If there might be an advantage to conducting business that runs on a financial year of October to September it is that annual changes can be made without an unsuspecting clientele even being aware.
This surely is the case for the US Department of Agriculture who updated their maximum food stamp allotments for FY2025 a couple of months ago, and who won’t be obliged to reconsider them until next summer comes to a close.
As any adult who has to eat can attest, prices at the supermarket have been noticeably higher in recent months and our budgets are further tested each time we get to the till. It would appear that the USDA are also functioning with belts wrapped tautly around their waists as the response to the increase in food costs apparently only stretches as far as a laughable $1 a month increase in the monthly maximum allocation of SNAP (aka food stamps) for an individual recipient. Honestly. FY 2024’s $291 allotment is now $292. A family of four with net income below $2600 can receive up to $975. That’s an increase of $2 on last year.
Although it doesn’t make for particularly happy reading in this festive season, here’s the USDA’s memo on the subject: SNAP FY 2025 Cost-of-Living Adjustments | Food and Nutrition Service