The New Hampshire Food Access Map has information about food pantries and other organizations that can help those who are experiencing food insecurity.
New Hampshire had the lowest food scarcity rating in the nation at the end of March and beginning of April, the first data available since emergency pandemic SNAP benefits ended last month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The March 29-April 10 Household Pulse Survey was the first to measure household food scarcity since 32 million people across the U.S. who use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits went back to standard benefits March 1. Since the March 2020, SNAP benefits had included pandemic-related emergency allotments.
About 72,000 households in New Hampshire use SNAP benefits. Of the Granite State’s 1.1 million adults (people over 18), 4.4% said they experience food scarcity in household from March 29 to April 10, the most recent Census Household Pulse Survey. The survey was based on 1,167 responses from the state, and the results are weighted using the bureau’s methodology. The New Hampshire statistics have a 1.4% plus or minus margin of error.
Food scarcity means a household “sometimes or often” didn’t have enough food to feed all members. The Census also measures food insufficiency, which means a household has food, but not the kind that it wanted.
The U.S. food scarcity average for the week of March 29-April 10 was 10.9%, and the most food-insecure state during that period was Mississippi, at 18.8%.
SNAP benefits are based on income and household size. Beginning in March 2020, a range of changes were made to SNAP to help families cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent emergency allotment was a minimum additional $95 for all SNAP households, up to an amount valued to the maximum benefit for household size. February was the last month that the emergency allotments were allowed for the 32 states still using them.
There were 68,860 SNAP recipients in New Hampshire in December 2021, 71,087 in November 2022 and 71,307 in December 2022, according to the Census. That’s a 12-month increase of 3.6%. State estimates in February were 72,000.
New Hampshire ranks 39th nationally in SNAP participation by those who are eligible for the benefit, according to the New Hampshire Hunger Survey.
New Hampshire residents are eligible for SNAP if their household gross income is 200% or less of the federal poverty level. The FPL in 2023 begins at $14,480 for an individual and goes up to $50,560 for a family of eight. People on Supplemental Security Income and some other benefits are also eligible.
As the state prepared for the extra SNAP money to end earlier this year, Karen Hebert, director of the state Department of Health and Human Services Division of Economic and Housing Stability said, “As SNAP benefits return to pre-pandemic levels, we want to be sure people know that there are community resources that can assist those who continue to experience food insecurity.”
Hebert said at the time that the change means that benefits for about 65% of recipients in the state will decrease by an average of $108, with 35% getting an average $154 less in SNAP benefits.
She reminded those who get SNAP to report any changes in their circumstances to DHHS to ensure that that they are receiving the appropriate amount of SNAP benefits for their family size.
The Census found that people in states with extended SNAP experienced lower levels of food insufficiency in 2022 and the first two months of this year than states that distributed standard SNAP amounts.
By the end of 2020, all 50 states were distributing emergency allotment benefits, but by December 2021, 10 states had opted out. Seven more opted out last year.
Because of what the Census Bureau called the “roller coaster” of changes to SNAP benefits during the pandemic, a household of four with a net monthly income of $2,000 (gross income minus deductions allowed in SNAP calculations) got nearly $900 more in SNAP benefits in early 2023 than before the pandemic began. With the end of the pandemic benefit program, the same household gets $600 less each month.
The Census found that households receiving SNAP in states that opted out early consistently, and at higher rates, reported “sometimes” or “often” not having enough food to eat that states that continued with the extra benefits.
Food insufficiency has been significantly higher in states that opted out of the enhanced benefits for 12 out of the 15 Household Pulse Survey data collection periods from early 2022 until early March, with the only exceptions February and November 2022 and January of this year.
