USDA Awards SNAP Programs
By: Sydney Sheffield
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced over $5.5 million in grants towards the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). There will be $5 million in the SNAP Fraud Framework Implementation Grants to combat recipient fraud as well as more than half a million in Income Verification Grants to help states ensure SNAP households receive the accurate amount of SNAP benefits.
“USDA’s commitment to improving the integrity of SNAP is never-ending, and states are crucial partners in that effort,” said Brandon Lipps, Deputy Under Secretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. “The grants announced today will foster new and expanded strategies for reducing fraud and payment errors, protecting taxpayer dollars, and ensuring public confidence in this program.”
The SNAP Fraud Framework Implementation Grants were created to fund the SNAP Fraud Framework, a program where FNS partners with state agencies to improve the use of analytics to detect potential fraud, improve administration, and increase oversight more effectively. These 2-year grants will fund projects that support the framework.
Additionally, FNS also announced it will invest $53 million into SNAP administration. These grants will focus on program integrity, data and analysis, customer service, SNAP Employment and Training programs, and nutrition. Currently, SNAP helps over 4.3 million Americans afford food for their families.
“SNAP represents a critical component of America’s food safety net – and now more than ever, we need to ensure that safety net is well-supported,” said Cindy Long, FNS Administrator. “State agencies and their partners are the backbones of the program, and these grants are part of USDA’s commitment to providing them the resources they need to deliver program benefits in a manner that best meets the needs of the people they serve while maximizing program integrity and the use of data.”
The grants were released throughout August and September 2021, and benefited the following programs:
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SNAP Enhanced Income Verification Grants
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SNAP Longitudinal Data Project
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SNAP E&T Data and Technical Assistance Grants
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SNAP E&T National Partnership Grants
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SNAP Fraud Framework Grants
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SNAP Process and Technology Improvement Grants
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SNAP Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive Grant
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SNAP Online Purchasing Participation Assistance for Farmers and Farmers’ Markets Grant