By El Vocero - Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved an increase of $463.8 million to the block allocation that Puerto Rico receives for the Nutrition Assistance Program (PAN). This increase would raise the amount Puerto Rico receives to $2.5 billion.
"I am pleased to announce that USDA will be increasing our NAP appropriation to $2.5 billion. In Congress I have advocated for increases for the program, as it represents additional support for the over 1.5 million people who participate in this program," the resident commissioner posted this morning on her networks when she received the confirmation from USDA.
The increase will be effective October 1, 2021, when the next federal fiscal year begins.
The federal agency explained that Section 19 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 requires that the level of funding for nutrition assistance block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa be adjusted based on the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) each year.
As required by the 2018 Farm Bill, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has completed a reevaluation of the TFP, which is used to establish benefit amounts for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As a result of the TFP reassessment, the actual value of the plan will increase by 21 percent, which drives a resulting increase in Puerto Rico's block grant.
Pedro Pierluisi expressed in his social networks that: "The PAN allocation increases to $2.5 billion for Puerto Rico! We continue to advocate for the island to have equality in the funds that impact the nutrition of our people. Today we come closer with this new federal allocation of over $450 million additional. We continue to work as a team, all for Puerto Rico!".