ATLANTA (WJBF) – Federal lawmakers in the House of Representatives want to cut the budget for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.
The cuts could impact low income Georgia families who rely on the benefits and make it harder for them to buy groceries.
The Department of Agriculture says around 13 percent of Georgia’s population, or 1.4 million people receive snap benefits every month.
The Georgia budget and policy institute says the average SNAP benefit is about $6.20 per day.
The bill would require starts to share the cost of the program and also cut staff which could mean state lawmakers could axe the program altogether and that could impact students from low-income families.
“These children and their most nutritious meals come from school breakfast and school breakfast and school lunch. This summer they are not receiving any of that and if those benefits are cut our children will receive less nutrition because their families will not have the resources and we know that nutrition directly impacts our students ability to learn,” said Lisa Morgan, President of The Georgia Association of Educators.
The federal legislation proposes that states like Georgia pay a 5 percent share or about $162 million dollars starting in January 2028. Data shows that Georgia ranks 20th in the country based on its population of receiving SNAP benefits.
