Oregonians who receive SNAP benefits may have noticed some extra funds on their EBT cards today. The Department of Human Services wants those folks to know, that that money is for February and to budget accordingly.
Dawn Myers, the DHS Snap Program Director, says the distribution of February benefits was the result of the partial federal government shutdown. She says the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave states the go ahead to dole out funds two weeks early.
MYERS: “It’s really important for households to understand that these are not additional benefits these really are intended to be their February benefits and so they won’t receive additional benefits until their normal allotment in March”
Myers says that this is the only change in benefits that people who receive financial food assistance will see. She says its business as usual and others interested in applying for benefits are welcome to do so.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown told KLCC that she’s working on finding other available resources to backfill federal programs including SNAP.