The debt-ceiling deal struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the weekend contains many compromises for both Republicans and Democrats. Those include changes to the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as the food-stamp program.
SNAP aims to help lower-income households pay for nutritious food. But just how many working Americans receive food stamps? The number of working households that were eligible to participate in SNAP and that actually participated in the program varies by state. Some 94% of eligible households in Pennsylvania with at least one working person participated in the program, compared with 92% in Illinois and 90% in Oregon. But in California, that percentage was 59%.
“Of the 3.4 million married-couple families receiving SNAP benefits, 84% had at least one worker. Nearly half had two or more workers,” it said. “These data show that SNAP provides nutritional support for many U.S. working families. Millions of workers use SNAP to supplement low wages and meet their families’ basic nutritional needs.”
The federal program helps low-income families afford food by providing monthly benefits to supplement a family’s food budget. Every month, families receive the benefits through an electronic benefits transfer card, which they can use at grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores and some farmers markets. The program recently also enabled online purchases.