Whitmer Announces Additional Food Assistance Funding For 1.3M Families

Michigan Advance

April 23, 2022

All eligible Michigan families will get additional food assistance this month.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the extra $95 monthly payment in April will help lower the cost of groceries for approximately 1.31 million Michiganders in more than 700,000 households.

“Michiganders will receive additional assistance to put food on the table in April as we continue growing our economy,” said Whitmer. “This relief ensures that families can thrive and help us build on our economic momentum. We will continue collaborating with our federal partners to get things done by lowering out-of-pocket food costs and put money in people’s pockets with our proposals to roll back the retirement tax, triple the Earned Income Tax Credit, and lower the cost of gas.”

The program began at the outset of the pandemic in April 2020, when some Michigan residents began receiving additional food assistance. In May 2021, all eligible households then began receiving extra monthly benefits, although federal approval is necessary every month.

Eligible clients will see additional food assistance benefits loaded onto their Bridge Card between April 16 and April 25., which will appear as a separate payment from the assistance that is provided earlier in the month.

All households eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) receive an increase of at least $95 monthly, even if they are already receiving the maximum payment or are close to that amount. Households that received over $95 to bring them to the maximum payment for their group size will continue to receive that larger amount.

According to a release from the governor’s office, the maximum allowable benefits for SNAP customers based on their respective household size are as follows:

The additional federal funding is provided under House Resolution 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and was secured by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing), who chairs the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee.

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