People in Massachusetts who participate in SNAP will see their benefits increase starting in October in response to the rising cost of living, Gov. Charlie Baker’s office announced in a news release Wednesday.
Benefits will increase 12% as SNAP amounts adjust to the current cost of living. Households will see an average increase of $25 to $30 per month, according to the release.
There are about 550,000 households in the Bay State that receive SNAP benefits, which are adjusted each year by the federal government to keep pace with inflation. In addition, Massachusetts has obtained approval from the federal government to adjust the heating costs used to calculate benefit amounts, due to the regional increase in utility prices.
“The Baker-Polito Administration continues to seize every opportunity to address food insecurity and maximize federal nutrition programs,” Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said in the news release. “Increasing SNAP benefit amounts to reflect the cost of living for residents, in addition to continuing emergency SNAP allocations and implementing free school meals for all Massachusetts students this year, represents the Administration’s continued commitment. to combat hunger throughout the Commonwealth”.
Individuals will continue to receive additional emergency SNAP allocations related to the pandemic, which have been available since March 2020.
Here is a table provided by the state on the new SNAP benefit numbers.
| Maximum amount of SNAP benefits | ||
| household size | old amount | New amount (Effective October 1) |
| 1 | $250 | $281 |
| 2 | $459 | $516 |
| 3 | $658 | $740 |
| 4 | $835 | $939 |
| 5 | $992 | $1,116 |
| 6 | $1,190 | $1,339 |
| 7 | $1,316 | $1,480 |
| 8 | $1,504 | $1,691 |
| For each additional person | + $188 | + $211 |
| SNAP monthly minimum amount | ||
| household size | old amount | new quantity |
| 1-2 Personas | $20 | $23 |