More 'Disconnect' Connecting: Food Stamp Costs Jump 5% in Aug

The cost of food stamps jumped 5.3% to $7.5 billion in August, the highest amount since March when federal pandemic assistance ended.

The cost of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, had been decreasing. The federal SNAP program costs went from $11.01 billion in December 2022 to $7.14 billion as of July 2023 as states ended emergency benefits put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that the August data was preliminary, but the increase may be due to disaster benefits states offer.

The number of people on food stamps nationally increased from 41.3 million in July to 41.8 million in August.