February last month for pandemic-era SNAP emergency allotment  

  • The United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services announced that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) emergency allotments are ending after nearly three years.
  • The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, signed into law at the end of December, ended the authority for SNAP emergency allotments.
  • The last month of emergency allotments is February 2023.
      • Starting in March, clients will only get their regular SNAP payment loaded to their EBT card in the first half of the month.
      • There will be no second payment later in the month.
    • While Ohio has extended SNAP emergency allotments as long as federally allowable, February 2023 is the last month recipients will receive them. For more information, see ODJFS news release https://jfs.ohio.gov/ocomm/index.stm
    • Neither Hamilton County Job and Family Services, nor the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, have control over this change.
    • Because this is a federal law change, there are no fair hearing rights or fair hearing benefits on the ending of the SNAP emergency allotments

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    More Detail from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services

    The Families First Coronavirus Response Act allowed states to request emergency allotments (EA) for households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) until the end of either the federal public health emergency declaration or that state’s declaration. As a result, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) has been providing EAs to SNAP households since March 2020. Due the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, States can no longer issue emergency allotments after February 2023.  This means SNAP households will receive only their normal allotments beginning March 2023.

    In general, SNAP EAs ensured all households received the maximum allotment for their household size. For households that were already eligible for the maximum allotment, they received an additional $95 per month.

    Examples of EA benefits:

    • Individual normally entitled to the minimum allotment of $23 per month has been receiving an additional $258 per month to receive the maximum allotment of $281.
    • Household of 3 normally entitled to $180 per month has been receiving an additional $560 per month to receive the maximum allotment of $740.
    • Household of 4 normally entitled to $939 per month (maximum allotment) has been receiving an additional $95 per month, for a total of $1034.

    Households receive their normal allotment (i.e., the amount they are entitled to receive based on SNAP eligibility rules without EAs) on their normal issuance dates from the 1st to the 20th of the month and their EAs at the end of the month.