Individuals and families enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, will see their monthly benefits go down beginning in March. The program provides stipends to qualifying households to help put food on the table and address food insecurity.
Since March of 2020---when the pandemic started, Ohio has been providing additional benefits each month to SNAP recipients, known as emergency allotments. The allotments provided a second payment per month to help families weather the economic uncertainty created by the pandemic.
But a federal appropriations act signed at the end of December by Congress will end those emergency allotments. Beginning in March, SNAP recipients will no longer receive the extra payment each month.
The end of the emergency allotments will vary depending on the size of a household and its income.
Cuyahoga County and the state’s other counties are contacting SNAP recipients to make them aware of the benefits changes.
We are going to talk about the end of the emergency allotments and food security for the first part of the program.
Later in the program, we hear from the new CEO of MetroHealth, Dr. Airica Steed.
She has been at the helm of MetroHealth since last month. She came on-board during a turbulent time, after the board fired previous CEO Dr. Akram Boutros, for what it called improper bonuses. Dr. Boutros, who has filed two lawsuits against the hospital system, denies any wrongdoing and says the board is retaliating against him.
Guests:
-Dan Flowers, President & CEO, Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank
-Kevin Gowan, Administrator, Cuyahoga County Department of Jobs and Family Services
-John Corlett, President & Executive Director, Center for Community Solutions
-Taylor Wizner, Health Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Airica Steed, Ed.D, President & CEO, MetroHealth
Resources for Help:
United Way 211
Hunger Network Cleveland
Greater Cleveland Food Bank Food Help Finder
Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless Street Card
Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank Food Help Finder
Ohio Association of Food Banks help finder