Oklahoma Receives $6.5 in Additional SNAP Funds

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- Oklahomans this month are receiving an additional $6.5 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a 13.6 percent increase that will help state residents with monthly food bills, Oklahoma Department Human Services officials say.
“This money will give a real boost to both the SNAP recipients and Oklahoma retailers when people are able to purchase more food for their families,” said George Earl Johnson Jr., OKDHS director of communications. “The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act is good news for many people we serve,” Johnson said. “The monthly increase will last from April 1 until Sept. 30.”

Recipients don’t need to fill out additional paperwork to access the new funds, Johnson said.

The maximum monthly allotment for a four-person household increased from $588 to $668. The stimulus bill also increases the minimum monthly benefit amount for one- and two-person households from $14 to $16.

In February, Oklahomans spent $47.7 million in SNAP funds, the program formerly called food stamps. When the new money from the stimulus package was added to the February total, the increased amount was automatically added to the SNAP recipient’s Access Oklahoma Electronic Benefits Transfer card.

The number of SNAP recipients in Oklahoma increased again to 450,057 for March 2009.

The provisions of the stimulus package also include a relaxation in certain work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents that start today.

Individuals who have not been eligible for SNAP benefits because of these work requirements may now contact their OKDHS Human Services Center to reapply for SNAP benefits, Johnson added.

OKDHS has the lowest error rate in its administration of the food benefit program in the agency's history. The accuracy rate is 94.4 percent.

"We have the highest accuracy rate we've ever had, and we have the highest accuracy rate in the region," Johnson said. "This is important considering we are on track to distribute nearly a half a billion dollars in food benefits in Oklahoma in 2009."

###