4.1.2015 The Center for Budget Policy & Priorities (CBPP) recently released a report quantifying the negative impact of the November 2013 SNAP benefit cut, both in terms of increased food insecurity for CalFresh households and lost economic activity for states.
As part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), policymakers included a temporary benefit increase for all SNAP (CalFresh in California) participants. The benefit increase relieved hardship during the recession by helping participants maintain adequate access to food and by stimulating economic activity. The SNAP benefit increase is considered one of the most effective economic stimulus strategies included in ARRA.
The benefit increase was allowed to expire in November 2013 and CalFresh households saw their monthly benefit immediately decrease by an average of 7%, or about $20 per household per month. The average benefit per person per meal fell from about $1.49 to just $1.38.
Because CalFresh benefits are spent locally and quickly, the ARRA benefit boost was a remarkably effective economic stimulus during the recession. CBPP estimates that as a result of the November 2013 benefit cut, CA lost an estimated $583 million in federal benefit dollars in FY 2014. USDA has shown that every dollar in CalFresh expenditures generates $1.79 in economic activity. When multiplied out, that’s an additional $1 billion lost in state and local economic activity.
Read the full report. link
Questions? Contact Jared Call at 213.482.8200 ext. 201
