The Department of Human Services is altering payment schedules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the month of December to allow all benefits to be issued without risk of delay in case of a federal government shutdown. SNAP is a federally-funded program and the federal government is currently funded through Dec. 11.
“SNAP is a critical resource for the nearly 1.9 million Pennsylvanians who use it to purchase fresh food and groceries for themselves and their families. Particularly as Pennsylvania and our nation are in the midst of a growing public health crisis, we cannot risk a lapse in benefits that help meet this most basic, essential need,” said Secretary Teresa Miller. “Some SNAP recipients may receive their monthly benefit and emergency allotments earlier than usual, but we need Pennsylvanians to know that this is not in error or an additional payment. This is their normal December payment, and there will be no additional payment.”
SNAP benefits are typically issued during the first 10 business days of the month and emergency allotments, which are authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and currently go to about 60 percent of SNAP households, in the second 10 business days after this issuance. Because SNAP is entirely federally-funded, a delay in authorizing new funding could disrupt benefit issuance. To avoid any potential disruption, recipients may receive their benefits earlier than anticipated and in one payment as opposed to two issuances. All December SNAP benefits will be available on EBT cards by Dec. 11.
More information can be found at compass.state.pa.us
