Connecticut has started giving out a one-time $300 grocery benefit to low-income residents pushed off federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by the Trump Administration.
The state is working with local agencies to make the money available to anyone who’s lost or anticipates losing SNAP benefits due to the federal government’s changes, Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves said at a news conference in New Haven on Tuesday.
They can apply on her agency’s website.
“You will then receive a list of your community action agencies. You choose the one that’s closest to you. And you go there. And they are prepared to help you figure out whether in fact you’ve lost your SNAP benefit because of that, or you are in danger of doing so,” Reeves said.
Everyone who is eligible will get the $300 benefit as a prepaid virtual card that can be used everywhere SNAP EBT cards are accepted, she said.
The benefit is financed with $8.5 million from a state fund established to respond to federal cuts.
The fund still has about $300 million left.
