State officials and the Biden administration have reached an agreement allowing more than 1.8 million low-income Pennsylvania families to continue receiving about $150 million per month in emergency food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Acting Human Services Secretary Meg Snead announced today.
Since March 2020, Pennsylvania SNAP recipients have received between $100 million and $150 million monthly in emergency food assistance alongside usual SNAP benefits under provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Under federal law, supplemental funding requires a state to have an active disaster emergency declaration. Snead’s predecessor, Teresa Miller, had warned of potential disruption if Gov. Wolf’s declaration were not kept in place.
Nevertheless, in June, Pennsylvania’s Republican-dominated legislature, using authority voters granted to them the previous month, voted to end it, thus putting the additional SNAP funding in jeopardy.
“This emergency assistance has been life-sustaining for many Pennsylvania families, and I want to thank the Biden administration for working with us to ensure this assistance continues to help people in need,” Snead said.
