People may still be able to qualify for SNAP food benefits if they have up to $5,500 in assets, under a bill passed by the Arkansas Legislature.
High inflation since the pandemic prompted the Arkansas Senate majority to pass Temporary Relief Act 675. The Department of Human Services can now request a special waiver to allow a household to qualify for SNAP benefits, but only for one year, and only once every five years.
Cathy May, director of SNAP and WIC outreach for the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, applauded the change, noting food insecurity continues to steadily rise.
"Because of the increase in grocery cost, we are still having a lot of people call, ask for assistance, that either have had assistance in the past or maybe before COVID, they were kind of getting by, but now they're really struggling," May observed.
The bill also allows for adjusting the asset limit to qualify for SNAP benefits, based on inflation. About 6.3% of Arkansans experienced "very low" food security between 2019 and 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meaning they didn't have enough to eat because they could not get or afford sufficient food.
Four Arkansas Food Banks have said visits to their pantries are as high or higher than they were at the height of the pandemic.
D'Wan Tucker, ministry assistant at the Central Christian Church Food Distribution Center, said there has been a noticeable uptick in need.
"We have had, probably in the last three or four weeks, a great influx of calls getting on our schedule," Tucker noted. "Someone did tell me today, [it] was two families that lost their food stamps, and they said it was very critical."
More than 260,000 Arkansas households did not have a sufficient amount of food during the pandemic. May recalled how tough the situation was, and how important it was for organizations like hers to be able to respond quickly.
"We had a lot of calls from people who had never in their life had to ask anyone for assistance for food, to feed their family, and they were devastated," May recalled. "It was really heartbreaking."
Hunger-fighting groups hope the situation has changed, but not everyone has recovered financially. In the most recent survey from the nonprofit Feeding America, in 2021, Arkansas topped the list of states for families with low food security.
