Folks in New Canaan enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will receive increased benefits under the program this weekend to replace storm-related food losses, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has announced.
There are 136 New Canaan residents enrolled in SNAP, the program that used to be called food stamps, according to End Hunger Connecticut. The Malloy administration is increasing the aid to all SNAP recipients in Connecticut under the state's application for $4.5 million in replacement food benefits from the federal government for residents in areas hit hardest by power outages and flooding from Hurricane Sandy.
The state's request was approved in two stages this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, Malloy said in a press release.
A total of 73,383 SNAP-enrolled households (over 130,000 people) will automatically receive 25 percent of their October benefit amount in electronic benefit transfer accounts this Saturday. SNAP benefits can be used only for federally-approved food items at supermarkets, grocery stores and farmers’ markets, according to Malloy’s office.
“This equates to replacement benefits ranging from $4 to over $300, depending on income and household size,” said Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby of the Department of Social Services, the administering agency for SNAP. “The average replacement benefit is estimated at $62.”
Connecticut joins Rhode Island, New York, Maryland and Virginia in gaining federal approval to issue automatic, replacement benefits to eligible households in certain areas affected by the storm, the release said.
