Additional SNAP benefits coming September 17 to nearly 109,600 households in Connecticut

Additional SNAP benefits coming September 17 to nearly 109,600 households in Connecticut

The Connecticut Department of Social Services will provide over $16.5 million in Emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) Benefits to nearly half of Connecticut’s SNAP participants on Thursday, September 17, 2020 – adding to the $100.6 million in emergency benefits disbursed in April, May, June, July, and August.

Authorized by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, the extra food benefits will go to nearly 109,600 households that are not currently receiving the maximum benefits allowed for their household size. This means that all households enrolled in SNAP will receive the maximum food benefit allowable for their household size, even if they are not usually eligible for the maximum benefit.

Specifically:

• The Department of Social Services reports that nearly 109,600 of 222,119 SNAP-participating households statewide will receive the emergency benefits in September.
• With this additional $16.5 million allocation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, emergency benefits are totaling over $117.4 million in additional SNAP assistance statewide during April, May, June, July, August, and September with commensurate spending in the food economy.
• The average emergency benefit amount a household will see in its electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card on September 17 is $153.
• All participating households also received their normal SNAP benefits on the first three days of each month as they normally do, according to last name.

Emergency benefits allowed the household’s SNAP benefit to increase to the maximum allotment for a household of that size as follows:

Each additional person: add $146

For example, if a household of two normally received $255 of SNAP benefits in September, $100 would bring this household up to the maximum benefit for its size. The household will receive a $100 emergency benefit on September 17.

For additional information about SNAP, visit www.ct.gov/SNAP.

Governor Lamont encourages residents to sign up for the state’s CTAlert notification system

Governor Lamont is encouraging Connecticut residents to sign up for CTAlert, the state’s emergency alert system, which provides text message notifications to users. To subscribe, text the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.

Providing information to Connecticut residents

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, including an FAQ and other guidance and resources, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus.

Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can also call 2-1-1 for assistance, or text CTCOVID to 898211. The hotline is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance. Anyone who is out-of-state or requires a toll-free number can connect to Connecticut 2-1-1 toll free by dialing 1-800-203-1234. This is intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms are strongly urged to contact their medical provider.