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SNAP - Temporary Increase in Maximum Allotments due to COVID-19 (revised as of 12/28/2020)

EO Guidance Document #
FNS-GD-2020-0190
Resource type
Policy Memos
Guidance Documents
Resource Materials
PDF Icon Policy Memo (263.54 KB)
DATE: Dec. 28, 2020
SUBJECT: SNAP – Temporary Increase in Maximum Allotments due to COVID-19
TO: All State Agencies

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, signed by President Donald J. Trump on Dec. 27, 2020, increases Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by raising maximum allotments to 115 percent of the June 2020 value of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP). This memorandum provides the revised maximum SNAP allotment amounts by household size for the 48 states and D.C., Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands.

Maximum allotments will increase for the 48 states and D.C., Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For a family of four receiving a maximum allotment in the 48 states and D.C., benefits will be $782, an increase of $102. Maximum allotments for a family of four will increase to a range of $963 to $1,495 in Alaska, to $1,440 in Hawaii, to $1,153 in Guam, and to $1,005 in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The minimum benefit for the 48 states and D.C. will increase by $3 to $19 and will increase in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Attached are FY 2021 maximum allotments for each household size for the 48 contiguous states and D.C., Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands from January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021.

The legislation requires that the increased maximum allotments take effect beginning on January 1, 2021, and remain for each subsequent month through June 30, 2021. On July 1, 2021, state agencies will revert to the FY 2021 benefit allotments included in the memo issued on July 29, 2020. That memo is available here.

If you have any questions about this adjustment, please contact your FNS regional office representatives.

Casey McConnell
Acting Director
Program Development Division

Page updated: April 05, 2023

The contents of this guidance document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.