NEWS

Covid-era emergency SNAP benefits to end this month in Virginia

Joyce Chu
The Progress-Index
SNAP families will be returning to the pre-pandemic allotments for food.

The extra money that households on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) received during the start of the pandemic is ending. The last payment will be on Feb. 16.

Due to the pandemic, the Department of Social Services allocated extra money to families through the federal 2020 Families First Coronavirus Response Act . This allowed SNAP households to receive an extra $95 a month for groceries if they were already at the maximum allowance, or the difference in the maximum allotment and the supplemental benefit.

This emergency benefit helped over 900,000 families in Virginia. Since March 2020, the state has issued more than 2.1 billion dollars in emergency allotments. Now, Congress has passed a law that ends the emergency benefits, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023.

Households will permanently return to pre-pandemic allowances beginning March 1, 2023, and receive their regular SNAP benefit amounts on their usual day of issuance (on the 1st, 4th, or 7th day of the month).

Letters have been sent out to inform SNAP households of this change. Additionally, to support Virginians during this transition, VDSS has also created a dedicated webpage for more information and resources.

Beginning January 28, households may contact the temporary information line at 1-855-635-4370, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.  TTY assistance is available by calling 800-552-7917 or 866-246-9300. SNAP participants can contact their local department of social services or visit CommonHelp for questions or account information. 

For assistance with applying for food benefits, visit the VDSS SNAP webpage. To access information regarding resources statewide and in your local community, please contact 2-1-1 Virginia or visit the VDSS food and other nutritional assistance page.  

Joyce Chu, an award-winning investigative journalist, is the Social Justice Watchdog Reporter for The Progress Index. Contact her with comments, concerns, or story-tips at Jchu1@gannett.com or on Twitter @joyce_speaks.