The federal government has ended pandemic-related emergency food benefits, causing approximately 2 million more Americans to face hunger.
Ending Pandemic-Related Emergency Food Benefits Might Meant 2 Million More Americans In Hunger.|Forbes
Emergency food benefits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, have been terminated in states that had not already reduced emergency food benefits.
In a research conducted by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, it reveals that after the temporary increase in emergency food benefits such as SNAP benefits ended, recipients faced a 21% rise in food insufficiency.
The lack of emergency food benefits could mean a lack of sufficient food which can also indicates a low-quality diet.
The SNAP program provides benefits to low-income families in the U.S. to help them purchase food. Approximately 10% of households in the country rely on these emergency food benefits to meet their food needs.
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Aside from hunger, not having enough food can have an impact on chronic illness.
To examine the impact of discontinuing the emergency food benefits given by federal officials, researchers compared states that ended their emergency food benefits earlier with those that didn’t end emergency food benefits.
In relation to the discontinuation of emergency food benefits, a research shows that mothers with school-aged children who suffer from severe hunger are 53% more likely to have serious depression, US News and World Report says.
Harsha Thirumurthy says that their findings particularly concerns on the given previous research linking food insecurity to its several poor health outcomes. Thirumurthy added that reducing emergency food benefits amounts like SNAP benefits will have extensive impact on public health.
READ MORE|Post-Pandemic End to Food Assistance Programs Meant 2 Million More Americans Went Hungry
