Extra COVID food benefits set to expire

Paul B. Johnson, The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·3 min read

Jan. 21—HIGH POINT — Families who have relied on extra federal benefits to counter food hardship since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic are set to lose that help in a little more than a month.

Emergency COVID-19 allotments through the Food and Nutrition Services program, commonly referred to as food stamps, began in March 2020. Because of a federal change that takes effect at the first of March for all states, the average benefit per person per day in North Carolina will decrease from $8.12 to $5.45, a drop of about $80 a month per person, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reports.

Statewide, the emergency allotments have translated into about $150 million more federal dollars each month for families, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

State officials are working to increase access to food support through the NCCARE360 network to help connect families in need to resources in their communities, said Susan Gale Perry, the department's chief deputy secretary for opportunity and well-being.

"Families needed these additional benefits to get healthy and nutritious food throughout the pandemic," Perry said. "While FNS emergency payments are ending, the need is not. We will continue to prioritize food security for all North Carolinians."

State Department of Health and Human Services officials say families in need of additional food assistance can learn more through the website www.ncdhhs.gov/foodresources.

Since March 2020, an average of 900,000 North Carolina households have received Food and Nutrition Services emergency allotments. Locally, 51,496 households received extra benefits in Guilford County, 14,148 households in Davidson County and 11,900 households in Randolph County as of last month.

Guilford County Board of Commissioners Vice Chairwoman Carlvena Foster said people in her district, which covers parts of High Point, have been preparing for the end of the extra allotments.

"For the constituents I have talked to, most people realized that this was not going to last forever," Foster told The High Point Enterprise. "Some people have really prepared themselves by accumulating balances on their EBT cards. People just appreciated the opportunity and got the extra benefits for longer than they may have thought."

Foster said the greater impact of the change be grocery stores facing a drop in purchases.

"They will lose that extra revenue," Foster said.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, D-6th, said the extra allotments addressed a critical need during the pandemic.

"With those benefits set to expire in March of 2023, Congress must quickly turn its attention to strengthening key nutrition assistance programs," Manning told The Enterprise. "I'll continue working with my colleagues to pass the Farm Bill to reauthorize nutrition programs and support hard-working food producers."

Recipients will continue to get their regular Food and Nutrition Services monthly benefit amounts starting in March based on a person's or household's current eligibility, income, household size and other federal eligibility requirements. People receiving aid can view their regular monthly Food and Nutrition Services benefit amount and their emergency allotment amount online at www.ebtedge.com.

pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul