By El Nuevo Día - Puerto Rico will receive an increase of $463 million in Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) funding during the next federal fiscal year 2022, which begins in October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service announced today.
The funds are in addition to the $966 million awarded last March as part of the Coronavirus Rescue Act, which began to be distributed in July, the Family Department said.
With this increase, which represents a 23% improvement over base NAP funding, Puerto Rico should have over $3 billion in food assistance available this fiscal year, as President Joe Biden has recommended an allocation of $2.07 billion for the federal fiscal year.
During this fiscal year, Puerto Rico receives a base allocation of $2.038 billion.
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) said the increase in funding complies with the congressional mandate to reevaluate the " Thrifty Food Plan (TFP)," which mandates a reevaluation of the cost of a nutritious, low-cost diet.
"The TFP update will help the more than 1.5 million Puerto Rican islanders participating in PAN by providing nutritious food for their families," said Patty Bennett, Regional Administrator of the FNS Mid-Atlantic Office.
Bennett said the increase is especially important at a time when the pandemic is exacerbating challenges related to nutritional insecurity.
According to FNS, "funds received under the American Bailout Plan Act are providing senior households with an $11 increase-nearly 20% increase-for up to 12 months." "In addition, all households participating in the NAP are receiving an additional $58 in their monthly benefits consisting of $112 for a one-person household," the statement from that federal office added.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Family, Carmen Ana González, affirmed that the new funds will have "a very positive effect on the well-being and nutrition of the families supported by this nutritional program," which benefits 870,000 families. "We remain focused on the parallel efforts we are carrying out to achieve equality in funds, for the benefit of our people, which is the public policy of this administration and one of the priorities of Governor Pedro Pierluisi," she added.
In the United States, the re-evaluation of the TFP will represent an increase of $36.24 per month per beneficiary of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which operates in the states, Washington D.C., the Virgin Islands and Guam.SNAPThe TFP is the one that operates in the states, Washington D.C., the Virgin Islands and Guam.
A survey conducted in June 2020 by the George Washington University (GWU) School of Public Health and the New School Institute (NSI) showed that the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated food insecurity in Puerto Rico.
The survey indicated that 59% of respondents said they faced a reduction in income during the COVID-19 emergency.
The research then pointed to an increase in PAN dependency. From 45% of families that have relied on PAN, the percentage rose during this emergency to 62%.
In July, Washington Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González indicated that in the face of the federal budget bill, the House Appropriations Committee incorporated language requesting the Food and Nutrition Service to provide a plan that includes the estimated cost of including Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa in SNAP.