People who receive food stamps will be seeing a permanent increase in their monthly payments starting in October.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as SNAP, are set to increase by more than 25%. In California, this means CalFresh benefits will go up.
It's the largest single increase in the program's history.
According to the Biden Administration, it's an effort to help those facing food insecurity.
"I am so happy that people who are on food stamps or assistance programs are getting more money,” said Cambria resident Bonnie Hall.
Many argued that previous levels of pre-pandemic SNAP assistance were not enough and forced families to buy cheaper and less healthy food options every month.
"It's the kids that we need to support. We need to feed their brains so they can grow up and be healthy, productive citizens,” said Santa Maria resident Cynthia Hernandez.
This will affect about 42 million people who are currently enrolled.
But not everyone is on board with the increase.
“Everyone that gets that money should be looked at, talked to, and find out if they really need it or if it's just a freebie,” said Orcutt resident Richard Cole.
Although the increase is not directly connected to the pandemic, officials said they realized the importance of what food assistance programs provide to those low-income families.
"It been a really difficult time for everyone, you know, so any relief that people can get is helpful,” Hall said.
This increase is projected to cost an additional $20 billion per year and will not have to be approved by Congress.
For more information on this program, click here.
