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A lot of SNAP folks are going to get a big sticker shock, come spring.
The "extras" that came their way through federal funds during COVID are going away with the first Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food benefit checks of March.
Washington County Job and Family Services has been reminding clients of this for a while now.
"This is not a cut," JFS Director Flite Freimann emphasized Thursday, this is going back to what people's actual entitlement numbers are. But going back to "normal" after three years of "more" is going to be a tough adjustment for many who didn't really listen or just didn't want to think about it.
That's something the county's JFS is already working on, to make the best situation out of what's coming. Freimann and four of his colleagues met with Washington County Commissioners on Thursday to outline what they're planning and what the upside of things to come could be.
"SNAP is the most complicated program we run because the eligibility is actually determined by income, family size, resources, expenses and other special needs," Freimann said.
The immediate response to COVID was to allow states to request an emergency allotment, and that allowed a family to get the maximum SNAP benefit for its family size, regardless of income. Ohio took advantage of that and families have been getting the maximum benefit since March 2020, almost three years.
To get SNAP recipients back to the new reality as soon as possible, JFS has an approach that will come from many directions.
"You might have lost $50 on your food assistance, but if I can save you $50 on the electric or phone bill, that can help offset that," Freimann said, introducing Emily Harra to commissioners. "This offsetting other costs or freeing up additional monies, that is through our community partners. Emily will talk about that."
"We are going to talk to you about food resources, obtaining food at reduced prices, or maybe even free," he said, introducing Nicole Bowling. "Nicole will talk about that."
Introducing Lisa Terry, Freimann said, "Lisa will talk to you about financial literacy and better money budgeting and planning."
"Michelle will be able to give information about how to be better consumers of goods and products," Freimann said, noting that Michelle Brown was unable to attend the meeting Thursday.
JFS will also be looking beyond its own resources. There also will be information about community meals, church programs, food banks, commodity boxes for seniors and information from OSU Master Gardeners on growing your own food.
There will be cash incentives and gift cards to make all that learning a more attractive option, which Dawn Freeland explained in more detail to county commissioners.
It's not just cash incentives that JFS hopes will motivate SNAP recipients to actively participate in the ways they can get help. JFS has tried these types of efforts a number of times before COVID, the representatives told commissioners, and the interest in "classes" has ranged from none to "ho-hum."
This time, the stakes are higher.
"The average family of four, it's difficult to predict -- but that family is probably going to lose between $400 and $600 a month in food assistance. These are families that also have been completely immune to food inflation. They've run their groceries down that list and swiped that EBT card and there has been enough money to pay for them. On March 3, on that Friday, they're going to swipe and there's not going to be any money left," he said.
"We are genuinely hopeful that this time -- this shock to them -- will make them say, 'Hey, I need to come and do something.’"