A year since emergency SNAP benefits expired, thousands of Minnesotans struggle with grocery bills

When emergency SNAP benefits expired a year ago with the pandemic waning, food inflation had peaked.

But grocery bills still have not dropped.

The one-two punch of higher prices and shoppers having less to spend on groceries has left hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans struggling to feed their families.

“It felt like a grieving process at first,” said Jean Leake in Brooklyn Center. “That cushioned us, the increased income, and losing that has an effect on your emotional spirit.”

The 81-year-old on a fixed income had been able to stock her freezer and try new foods with the additional money from the federal subsidy, formerly known as food stamps. Congress boosted benefits to the maximum amount for all SNAP participants throughout the pandemic, while the Biden administration permanently increased benefits, more than doubling the money spent on the program nationally in recent years.

“That extra benefit was really special,” she said. “After the loss of those dollars, it was an extra worry: how to survive.”

The added aid was so substantial, it even registered with Minnesota’s multibillion-dollar food companies. Post Consumer Brands, General Mills and Hormel have seen a notable drop in the amount of food they’ve sold since the emergency benefits ended in spring 2023.

“We think SNAP is a big component of it,” Post CEO Rob Vitale said earlier this year as the Fruity Pebbles-maker offered reasons for declining cereal sales.

Federal SNAP spending likely will now fall to its lowest level in four years, and there’s a proposal to further reduce SNAP benefits as part of the long-delayed Farm Bill. Restored eligibility requirements also are squeezing out others who might need the support.

Food banks are feeling the pressure.

“Food insecurity rates, which had been going down, have shot back up, and the charitable food system can’t meet all that demand,” said Zach Rodvold, public affairs director at Second Harvest Heartland. “When you go to a food shelf, that’s not putting money in the local economy.”

SNAP advocates often point to the broader economic ripples the program brings as money moves from retailer to manufacturer to farmer; those impacts become more obvious as benefits weaken.

Minnesotans received a record $1.2 billion in SNAP benefits in 2022, more than double the pre-pandemic total.

“That money stays in the economy, in circulation,” said Salaam Bhatti, SNAP director at the Food Research and Action Center. “It’s a self-contained investment, and it gets spent within weeks of it being received. It’s a boon for American jobs.”

Program critics have said too much SNAP money goes to junk food or non-nutritious meals and ingredients, and the emergency expansion might have contributed to food inflation.

Without it, however, millions of Americans would have fallen below the poverty line during the pandemic, according to the Urban Institute. About 12% of Americans access SNAP benefits.

Today, the program is not reaching its full potential in Minnesota, which has one of the lowest participation rates in the nation at 62%, according to Second Harvest. About 275,000 Minnesotans who are eligible for SNAP don’t use it.

“That is a lot of individuals who can be helped and a lot of SNAP dollars that can be unlocked and brought into our state as a result,” said Sarah Peterson, director of neighbor services at Second Harvest. “We’re still seeing neighbors having trouble paying for food because it’s not the only thing they’re paying for that has gotten more expensive.”

As the price of food remains stubbornly high, Minnesotans are now receiving $50 million less per month in SNAP benefits, according to state data. That’s about $80 less per person, per month compared to 2022.

The nation’s largest food companies might see sales drop another $12 billion annually as SNAP spending continues to decline nationally, according to a recent report from Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery.

That could threaten thousands of Minnesota jobs, from grocery stores to General Mills headquarters in Golden Valley. Even as shoppers are spending more on groceries, they are bringing home less food, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. When adjusting for inflation, grocery spending is at its lowest level since 2018, while restaurant spending continues to rise.

The good news for consumers, at least, is food makers will be rolling out more discounts, coupons and promotions to regain some of their lost customers and rebuild momentum.

“We expect increased discounting in the near-term, especially as consumers (particularly at the low end) remain stretched,” Lavery wrote.

Bhatti said hunger in America is “the crisis of our time” and needs an adequate response from policymakers, since “the unwinding of the pandemic interventions made it worse at the worst time.”

For Leake, losing her extra benefits also happened while her late husband was ill.

“It wasn’t until recently I recognized the importance of having extra income, because when it’s fixed, that’s your budget for the rest of your life,” she said. “This loss was not as heavy as losing the one you love, but it was one more loss and, ‘Here we go again.’”