Almost one in ten Nebraskans receives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps, but that could change in the new year.

If a 2021 expansion of income eligibility put in place during the pandemic is allowed to "sunset" in 2023, many fewer households and individuals will qualify for SNAP.

Tina Rockenbach - executive director for Community Action of Nebraska - said some believe since many jobs lost when COVID was at its peak have come back, there should be less need for food assistance, but that isn't what her staff has been seeing.

"Around that same time is when this inflationary economy hit, right?" said Rockenbach. "And it's still continuing to hit, and it's still continuing to hit. With the way rent has gone up, the way utility costs have gone up, gas, food at the grocery store, people are just struggling to make ends meet."

If allowed to "sunset," the state income eligibility requirements will return to 130% of federal poverty guidelines from the current 165%.

That means a family of three, who can now qualify with an income of roughly $38,000, could not earn more than $29,000 annually.

On the national level, by September of this year, at least 20 states had increased their SNAP eligibility to 200% of federal poverty guidelines, allowing a family of three earning up to $46,000 annually to qualify.

Seventy-two percent of Nebraska SNAP recipients last year were families with children, and 30% included an older adult or a person with disabilities.

Rockenbach said one of the common misperceptions about people who receive SNAP benefits is that it's a way of life for them.

"They are to help fill the gap so that a person can start finding a job, getting a job," said Rockenbach. "Maybe there's training involved, and they have to take some formal training. And it's to help with that stopgap, to encourage them to keep moving forward, keep setting their goals, and keeping going through that."

Studies have found a correlation between receiving SNAP benefits and better health outcomes such as a lower risk of obesity and increased ability to live independently.

By May of this year, food costs were nearly 12% higher than the year before.

Rockenbach said folks having difficulty affording food should find out if they qualify for SNAP benefits, including retirees.

"Depending on how their retirement is set up or how their incomes are set up, you know, maybe they're only on Social Security," said Rockenbach. "And so, that's a lot of what we're seeing out in the rural area as well. Again, going back to they don't think they're eligible for it, when in fact they very well may be."

California's program helping low-income families buy fresh fruit and vegetables is on the chopping block and health care advocates are asking legislators to save the Market Match program.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting most of the program's $35 million budget to help close the state's budget shortfall.

Sophia Vaccaro, a participant in Market Match from Echo Park, said she depends on Market Match in more ways than one.

"It helps people being able to stretch their budget further," Vaccaro explained. "Then, I think it helps the community, in that it creates a sense of camaraderie at the farmers' market and makes people more invested in the community itself."

The program matches every dollar CalFresh customers spend on fresh fruits and vegetables at a farmer's market up to between $10 and $20 per day. It is active at 294 sites across the state and is partially paid for through federal matching funds.

Dr. John Maa, surgeon at Marin Health Medical Center and board member of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American Heart Association, said Market Match promotes healthy eating and boosts the local farm economy.

"An improved diet really will have long-term meaningful impacts on health, and also reduce health care costs," Maa explained. "It really helps to sustain the growers and the merchants. I guess it's a win-win-win."

Siu Han Cheung, outreach coordinator for the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and board member of the Heart of the City Farmers' Market, argued the program is vital to residents across the state.

"If the Market Match will be cut, that is terrible," Cheung stressed. "That means they have less money to buy their food. So, Market Match is very important for the low-income families and the seniors."

Legislators and the governor are working toward the May budget revisions, and must pass a balanced budget by June 15.

South Dakotans face high prices at the grocery store and some are working to ease the burden.

A new report from the Federal Trade Commission finds some grocery retailers used the supply-chain disruptions of the pandemic to raise prices and collect bigger profits, even after supply chains regulated.

One South Dakota group is trying to reduce sticker shock by targeting the state sales tax on groceries. Dakotans for Health is sponsoring a citizens ballot initiative to repeal the 4.2 % tax.

Rick Weiland, co-founder of the group, said lower food bills would make a meaningful difference for some.

"People of modest means, or low income hardworking families, disproportionately spend upwards of 30% on food," Weiland pointed out. "This is going to be helpful."

South Dakota is one of only two states in the country to apply its full state sales tax rate to groceries with no exemptions, Mississippi being the other. More than 9% of South Dakotans are considered food insecure, meaning they do not always have access to enough healthy food.

The grocery tax has been a popular topic among state legislators in recent years. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem even campaigned on the promise to repeal it. Critics have said proposing a tax cut without a way to finance it is irresponsible.

Weiland pointed out Gov. Noem had a formula spelled out when she brought forward her bill in 2023, which was voted down.

"She had no problem defending her position in front of the Legislature, in terms of how much revenue the state was going to lose and where they could make it up," Weiland recounted.

The initiative needs about 17,500 signatures by next month to appear on the November ballot.

Colorado families must sign up before the end of April to receive $120 per child to buy food through the new Summer EBT program approved by Congress. Families with incomes that qualify for free and reduced-price school lunches - up to around $49,000 a year for a family of three - must enroll through their school.

Anya Rose, public policy director with Hunger Free Colorado, said as school cafeterias close their doors for summer, EBT cards can help kids get the nutrition they need to return to school in the fall ready to learn.

"A lot of families will be automatically enrolled, if they are enrolled in programs like TANF, SNAP, Medicaid. If you are unsure, then talk to your school about filling out the household income form to make sure you can qualify this year if you're income eligible," she said.

EBT grocery cards can be used to buy fruits and vegetables, milk, cheese, eggs, breads, meat, fish and other food at all grocery stores that accept SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program formerly known as food stamps.

Rose noted grocery cards will be sent by mail, so it's important to make sure schools have your correct address.

Some 337,000 Colorado children are eligible for the program that is expected to generate up to $72 million in economic activity across the state. Grocery cards are available to all income-qualifying households regardless of their immigration status.

"There are no immigration eligibility requirements. And accessing Summer EBT and school meals do not impact immigration status in any way," she explained.

Filling out your school's household income application, sometimes called a school meal or benefit form, will also bring critical federal dollars into Colorado's Healthy School Meals for All initiative. It's currently running $24 million over budget. Rose adds there are other benefits for families who participate in Summer EBT.

"That same form can also qualify students to get discounts on school-related fees for things like SAT or ACT testing, or athletics or band or field trips or other activities," she said.