Families eligible for food stamps, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, will continue receiving additional benefits through September, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday.
The additional benefits will impact about 350,000 families that are receiving the increased monthly benefits. Eligible participants should expect to see the extra benefits on their Bridge Cards by Sept. 30, with payments beginning for some households Sept. 20, according to a news release.
The additional benefits will be loaded onto Bridge Cards as a separate payment from assistance provided earlier in the month. Those who already are eligible for the program will see an increase in monthly benefits if they are not already receiving the maximum SNAP benefits.
“MDHHS is committed to providing easy access to expanded food assistance to residents who are struggling to feed their families due to the impacts of the pandemic,” Lewis Roubal, the department’s chief deputy director of opportunity, said in the release. “We will continue to do everything we can to help Michiganders through these difficult times as we fight COVID-19 together.”
In Michigan, nearly 1.5 million people receive SNAP benefits. The additional benefits — which began in March and were set to end in August — will bring all current SNAP participants to a maximum monthly allowance.
The benefits are determined by the number of individuals in a household:
- One person: $194
- Two people: $355
- Three people: $509
- Four people: $646
- Five people: $768
- Six people: $921
- Seven people: $1,018
- Eight people: $1,164
Eligible families do not need to reapply to receive the additional help. Recipients can check their benefits by going to www.michigan.gov/MIBridges or reaching out to a consumer service representative toll-free at 888-678-8914.
The 350,000 households that receive increased benefits represent nearly 50% of the more than 800,000 Michigan households that received food assistance in August, with the remaining households already receiving the maximum benefit, MDHHS said.
The federal government is providing additional funding to states for food assistance under House Resolution 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@freepress.com; 313-348-7558. Follow her on Twitter: @NushratR.