Gov. Greg Abbott announced that Texas Health and Human Services will be providing an additional $168 million in food benefits for recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“As the state continues to respond to COVID-19, we are working closely with our agency partners to ensure families have access to nutritious meals,” said Gov. Abbott in a press release April 8.
The Texas Health and Human Services department received federal approval of more than $168 million in emergency SNAP benefits from U.S. Department of Agriculture. The emergency funds provide the maximum amount of SNAP benefits to recipients based on family size to help Texans who are financially insecure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“SNAP has always been a safety net for households in their time of need. A pandemic will not stop our work to continue helping families purchase nutritious foods,” said Texas Health and Human Services Access and Eligibility Deputy Executive Commissioner Walter Salter.
Disbursements for the additional SNAP benefits will be staggered beginning April 9. SNAP recipients will see the additional benefits for the month of April reflect on their Lone Star Card by April 15, and May 15 for next month’s benefits.
“I thank the U.S. Department of Agriculture for quickly granting this approval,” Abbott said. “These emergency benefits will give hundreds of thousands of Texans the additional support they need to provide for their families during this challenging time.”
SNAP recipients do not need to take any further action to receive the additional benefits. More information about SNAP benefits is available here.