by Donald Eng
HARTFORD, CT — About 25,000 state residents who are about to lose their federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as a result of changes to eligibility will receive a little relief from the state, according to Gov. Ned Lamont.
On Wednesday morning, Lamont announced a plan to use $8.5 million from Connecticut’s Federal Cuts Response Fund to provide $300 grocery assistance cards to those losing their benefits.
“Connecticut will not stand by as the Trump administration uses hunger as a weapon against working families, veterans, and our most vulnerable,” Lamont said. “These new SNAP work requirements represent a cruel decision and fundamental shift away from the program’s core mission of ensuring our neighbors don’t go hungry.”
Lamont said he was particularly troubled by the decision to eliminate the exemption for veterans.
“We are providing this assistance as a bridge to prevent people from going hungry as we help them navigate these changes,” he said. “I hope that Congress will end the inhumane and immoral cuts that President Trump pushed for after Americans elect a new Congress this fall.”
Under the plan, eligible individuals who have recently lost SNAP eligibility due to federal changes in work requirements will receive a grocery assistance card that can be used to purchase food. While applying for benefits, applicants will be connected with services to help them regain SNAP eligibility where possible.
These benefits and services will be administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) through a partnership with the state’s network of community action agencies, which will assist with outreach, eligibility verification, and distribution of benefits. In addition to the grocery card funding, the plan includes $1 million for administrative costs related to the distribution of this aid and related services, according to Lamont’s office.
“No one in Connecticut should have to worry about putting food on the table because of a policy decision made in Washington,” DSS Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves said. “This one-time grocery assistance will provide an immediate lifeline to thousands of our neighbors who are losing food benefits through no fault of their own.”
State Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, co-chair of the legislature’s Human Services Committee, called the administration’s cuts to social support programs devastating.
“The president just last week said he doesn’t care about families struggling with high gas and grocery prices,” Lesser said.
Lamont submitted details of the plan to legislative leaders Wednesday afternoon. This is the fourth such plan for use of Connecticut’s Federal Cuts Response Fund that the state created last year.In December, the state allocated $168 million to support health care and Planned Parenthood, among others. In January, another $18.7 million went for food assistance. The most recent such allocation was last month, a $22.5 million allocation to support the state’s dairy farmers.