230K Texas families filed for SNAP food assistance in March, twice as many as same month last year

[TexasTowelie]

by Stacy Fernández, Texas Tribune


The number of Texas families that applied for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program doubled in March compared with the same period last year, as thousands of Texans lost their jobs and incomes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, Texas received 230,809 applications for the food assistance program, up from 114,008 during the same month last year, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

April application numbers, which will be released next month, are expected to be more representative of how many Texas families need SNAP since measures to simplify the application — like taking away paystub, work and interview requirements — didn’t go into effect until the end of March, said Rachel Cooper, a senior policy analyst with the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank. She said Texas’s response is lagging behind that of other large states.

"Part of it is our size, part of it is our policies and our staffing issues. But we are definitely tending to be slower to implement [changes] than other large states,” Cooper said.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/13/texas-snap-applications-coronavirus/

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. I hope that every single one of those families gets the SNAP within a week or two.

I have no idea how long it normally takes, and these are not normal times. So many more people are applying for aid of all kinds.

[TexasTowelie]

2. They usually get $100 up front very quickly--sometimes the same day as they apply.

They are the eligible for regular payments around the sixth day of each month. I was in the renewal process that occurs every six months when the pandemic escalated. Everyone who began the renewal process was granted a six month extension with no questions asked.

I hit the triple-witching hour of having my SNAP benefits renewed, applying for indigent care, and renewing my Lifeline phone all at the same time. The first two worked out okay--my SNAP benefits were reloaded and the indigent care process is proceeding well. However, my phone service was cut and I was told that I couldn't reapply until the end of April.

Considering that I've had considerable problems with the phone service and could never speak with a human being when I had service issues, I decided to investigate and I found prepaid phone service through T-Mobile for $15/month and I got a free phone by putting down about $100 so I won't have a phone bill until the fall. I ended up with a Motorola phone instead of an off-brand or ZTE phone from China so I feel it a bit better knowing that I won't have to jump through so many hoops next time. I went to my college homecoming last fall and had downloaded the Uber app on the Lifeline phone, but had to delete the app as soon as I got home since the app took up nearly all of the memory on the phone. Note: I did not have any photos, games or music on the Lifeline phone and already uninstalled a lot of the other apps that generated celebrity gossip and useless ads for garbage that I couldn't afford to purchase.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. Thank you for that information.

Several years ago I realized that SNAP benefits ought to be paid to all. Even the very wealthy. Those who don't really need them might well figure out a way to pass those benefits on to those who do need them.

And there should be a UBI, Universal Basic Income. The proposals I've seen for this tend to come at at about a thousand dollars a month. Which isn't a huge lot of money, but would be an amazing backstop for a lot of people.

I do want to point out that SNAP is not intended to be the sole source of food. Just as Social Security was never intended to be the only source of income in retirement. It was intended to be one leg of a three legged stool. The other two legs were for a pension and personal savings. I think that a lot of people have completely lost track of the three legged stool think and go into retirement utterly astonished that SS won't really support them. Duh. What part of saving for the future did you lose track of?