Ohio families receiving food stamps could get an unwelcome surprise come January: $50 less every month in assistance.
For the 869,000 households enrolled in the program for the poorest Ohioans, that could amount to about $520 million annually out of the grocery budgets.
Because of the way the federal government calculates utility expenses for people receiving the benefit, a mild winter nationwide last year, and a lower price for natural gas, many families could experience a significant cut in aid, those familiar with the program say.
….What’s called the “standard utility allowance” — the amount deducted from a person’s income when the state determines his or her eligibility for the food stamp program — will decrease by $166 for 2013, translating to about $50 less per household in food assistance. State Job and Family Services officials tried to appeal the change to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food stamp program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but the USDA denied the request.
I blame Bush and Global Warming (or climate change or whatever the kids are calling it now). But mostly Bush.
It seems to me that Ohio no longer has any particular usefulness in the short term for Democrats or Republicans, so the chances of that automatic formula being altered in the face of fiscal cliff negotiations seems to me to be slim.
Mike G. on November 13, 2012 at 6:43 pm said:
Funny thing hasppened to me at WalMart today. The cashier had just finished ringing up my purchases when this young woman came up behind me and asked in a low voice if she could pay for my groceries with her food stamps and me give her the cash. I looked at her and said…Ah no. Then I looked at the cashier to see if she had heard the exchange. From her expression, it seemed like she had.
I didn't want to embarrass the girl, but I should have said…Hell, I've already paid for your food stamps. Why would I want to pay for them again? Plus, she could lose her food stamps and I could go to jail.
Meep on November 14, 2012 at 8:30 am said:
This type of food stamp fraud has been going on for decades, alas. I don't think switching over from the paper version to EBT cards has changed it all that much.
Starless on November 14, 2012 at 9:07 am said:
Sounds like she was trying to double-down on the usual food stamp scam. The scam I've always heard about is that the food stamp value is traded at pennies on the dollar: as in, she buys fifty dollars worth of food for you and you pay her $25 cash.