SNAP shouldn’t have extra red tape

A version of this column originally appeared in The Alpena News.

One in seven Michiganders uses the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help put food on the table.

Over 60% of those SNAP participants are in families with children, and over 80% of them have incomes below the poverty line.

At the end of this month, those participants will receive at least $95 a month less than they do right now because the emergency allotments provided during the COVID-19 pandemic will end.

The end of those temporary allotments will increase food hardship for many, given the insubstantial amount of basic SNAP benefits and the high recent inflation in food prices — groceries were 10% more expensive in early January than they were in the previous year.

And we know it will impact some SNAP users harder than others, including older Michiganders and people with disabilities.

As the Michigan League for Public Policy and our partners work to spread the word on the end of those extra benefits, we’re also concerned about issues with the current SNAP system, including Michigan’s use of an asset test for SNAP.

Right now, in order to be eligible for food assistance, residents can’t have more than $15,000 in assets. That means that, if a family has been saving responsibly for years — maybe for college, a house, or a car — and falls on hard times, they can’t get help putting food on the table.

That goes against the values we should stand for as Michiganders.

We shouldn’t be punishing families who have hit a roadblock and need food by requiring them to spend down their savings in order to get access to food. We should be making sure families have the nourishment they need to stay afloat — so kids can get to school and parents can look for work and try to regain financial security.

We’re glad to see that state Sen. Jeff Irwin takes SNAP seriously. He recently introduced Senate Bill 35, which would remove the legal requirement for the state to apply an asset test to determine eligibility for food assistance.

Most families who are on SNAP use it for temporary relief during rough times, but, if they’re forced to spend down their savings to qualify, many of them could be pushed into longer-term economic hardship. Hard financial times are disruptive to families and children, and eliminating the asset test would help reduce the disruption.

In addition to helping the 710,500 Michigan households that receive SNAP (including more than 531,000 children), eliminating the asset test would also help reduce paperwork for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services frontline caseworkers, who have such high caseloads that it can be difficult to give public assistance recipients the attention they need.

Because SNAP benefits are 100% federally funded, any increase in cases resulting from the elimination of the asset limit would not cost Michigan taxpayers money. On the contrary, SNAP helps stimulate local economies by ensuring families have enough money to buy food at their local grocers. SNAP generally has a low error and fraud rate, and every dollar spent with a SNAP benefit increases the gross domestic product by $1.54.

But benefits to the economy aside, SNAP strengthens families.

Michigan should join the 34 other states that have eliminated the asset test for food assistance because we value our kids, families, and communities.