Policy Memo (189.87 KB)
| DATE: | August 9, 2021 |
| SUBJECT: | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – Maximum Allotment Memo Delay |
| TO: | All SNAP State Agencies All Regions |
The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (PL 115–334, the 2018 Farm Bill) required U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to re-evaluate the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) by 2022 and every 5 years thereafter based on current food prices, food composition data, consumption patterns, and dietary guidance. By law, the June TFP is the basis for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) maximum allotments for the following fiscal year. Typically, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) releases a memo with cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) to the SNAP maximum allotments, income eligibility standards, resource limits, and deductions in late July, effective each year on October 1. Soon after the COLA memo is released, FNS releases the basis of issuance tables.
Because USDA is currently in the process of re-evaluating the TFP, there will be a delay in the release of the fiscal year (FY) 2022 SNAP maximum allotments. FNS recognizes that state agencies need the information contained in the memo as soon as possible to program their systems appropriately. FNS will release the memo as soon as the TFP becomes available, likely in mid-August.
Please share this information with your state agencies.
Jessica Shahin
Associate Administrator
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program