Patricia Dillon

 

 

 

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Dear Neighbor,

A new one-time grocery benefit of $300 each is being distributed to low-income Connecticut residents who have been pushed out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to federal changes.

The grocery benefits, through a partnership the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) arranged with Connecticut’s network of community action agencies, with support provided by the Connecticut Association for Community Action (CAFCA), will be distributed as prepaid virtual grocery cards—not loaded onto existing EBT cards.

Eligible residents are expected to be able to access the benefits starting today, August 4.

Food insecurity is on the rise in Connecticut, and the actions by the federal government will likely make matters worse. Connecticut Foodshare recently shared some alarming data: 

• Overall food insecurity rate for Connecticut increased to 15.3% (vs 14.3% last year - a 7% increase)
•  560,760 food insecure individuals (approx. 50,000 person increase)
• 1 in 7 Connecticut residents are food insecure, including 1 in 5 children (an increase from last year at 1 in 6 children)
• Food insecurity disproportionately impacts Black and non-white Hispanic communities. In Connecticut,1 in 3 Black persons and 1 in 4 non-white Hispanic persons are food insecure.
• 1 in 11 Connecticut seniors are food insecure
• Nearly 50% of food insecure neighbors in Connecticut do not qualify for SNAP and other types of federal assistance.
• Access the full Map the Meal Gap report here. You can find an interactive map of Connecticut with town-by-town data on the Connecticut Foodshare website here.

Sincerely,

Patricia Dillon

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