The sky-high inflation experienced under President Joe Biden continued to degrade what families could afford on federal food assistance in 2023, a recent report from the Urban Institute found.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) failed to cover the cost of a modestly priced meal in 98% of counties in 2023, far higher than the 21% gap experienced in 2021 due to rampant food inflation, according to the report. The price of food on average has risen 20.4% since the start of Biden’s term in January 2021, higher than the overall rate of inflation, which measured 19.3% in that same time frame. (RELATED: Looking To Retire Soon? You’ll Need Over $1 Million To Live ‘Comfortably’ Under Biden, Report Finds)
SNAP benefits are adjusted at the start of every fiscal year by the Department of Agriculture to account for an increase in the cost of living, but due to persistently high inflation, changes to benefits were not able to be extended to cover the full degree of inflation, according to the report.
An Urban study found that many families turned to credit card debt, payday loans, & other options to put food on their tables. Check out this Urban Wire blog post to learn about challenges & how #safetynet programs through the #FarmBill can help. https://t.co/OT5dkWWhUx #Policy
— Urban Institute (@urbaninstitute) May 21, 2024
In 2023, SNAP benefits were on average $49.29 lower than what monthly meals cost for an individual, being $73.31 short in urban areas and $44.38 short in rural areas, according to the report. Urban areas had meal costs that were 28% higher than SNAP benefits by the end of 2023, while urban areas had a gap of 17%.
The rate of inflation peaked at 9% under Biden in June 2022 and has since failed to fall below 3%, most recently rising 3.4% in the year as of April. In an attempt to bring inflation down, the Federal Reserve has set its federal funds rate to a range of 5.25% and 5.50%, increasing the cost of debt across the economy, particularly for Americans using credit cards to make ends meet.
Amid rising costs, Americans have been spending through their savings to make up the difference, with the cumulative amount of savings held by Americans dropping to $671 billion as of March, far lower than the over $1 trillion held one year earlier.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request to comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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