Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) reintroduced a bill that would adjust inequities in how federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) EBT is calculated for Hawaiʻi’s urban and rural areas.
The Feeding Rural Families Act would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct separate Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) calculations for urban and rural areas of Hawaiʻi when determining SNAP maximum monthly benefit allotments. Although federal law provides for higher benefit levels in Hawaiʻi, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in urban and rural parts of Alaska, Hawaiʻi’s current adjustments rely only on Honolulu-area food prices.
“It is unreasonable and inaccurate to penalize Hawaiʻi’s neighbor island communities with a broken formula that values convenience over reality. Using a one-size fits-all calculation with no regard for the geography and food scarcity that exists throughout our island state makes absolutely no sense to our families already struggling with sky-high grocery prices,” said Rep. Tokuda. “The Feeding Rural Families Act ensures that SNAP benefits reflect the true cost of living in remote communities, strengthening the purchasing power of our families and helping them put food on the table.”
Rep. Ed Case (HI-01) is cosponsoring the bill.
Full text of the bill can be found here.
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