SNAP or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is one of the most critical policy tools we have to address hunger and poverty in the U-S. And during the pandemic, it was a literal lifeline. 

Congress temporarily increased SNAP benefits giving a boost of 15 percent to everyone who needed it and allowing all families to max out their eligibility based on the size of the family.  This month, the nearly three-year boost to a benefit used by more than 41 million Americans will end.  And now that a carton of eggs costs about as much as college tuition, millions of families will have to stretch their food dollars even further. It’s a tough blow, especially given Child Tax Credit, expanded for the pandemic, was also allowed to expire.  

Data from the Brookings Institute show that those monthly checks of up to $300 dollars per child lifted more than 3 and a half million children out of poverty. Something the Biden Administration was very proud of. 

We speak with Jamila Michener, associate professor of Government at Cornell University. Co-Director of the Cornell Center for Health Equity, and Author of Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism and Unequal Politics.