Are We Getting Extra Food Stamps in February 2023?

Are we getting extra food stamps in February 2023? It depends on where you live! The Emergency Allotment program that provides extra food stamps benefits will continue into February in several states.

Unfortunately, the program won’t last much longer. In the recently-passed federal Omnibus bill, Congress mandated that this program end in February and they even removed the transition month we had been promised for the last few years.

Let’s talk about how these changes affect you and if you’ll get extra food stamps in February 2023.

Most people will get their LAST extra food stamps in February.

The new Omnibus bill introduced a few new programs that will help with food costs in the upcoming years… but it also took away the Emergency Allotments, which have been critical in helping low income families afford food over the last few years.

This is really frustrating because the new announcement directly contradicts the previous guidance we were given.

We’ve been told throughout the pandemic that the federal government promised to give the states 60 days’ notice before the end of the Public Health Emergency Declaration and that states would be allowed to issue one final transition month of benefits before those emergency allotments would end. That meant that states would have 90 days’ notice before those extra EBT benefits would terminate. That’s three months of warning for the people who rely on that money to feed their families.

However, the government abruptly changed their mind and decided not to do that any more.

The recent Omnibus bill terminates the emergency allotment after the February disbursement even though the Public Health Emergency was renewed on January 11. To add insult to injury, the Omnibus bill also changes the rules so that states cannot issue that extra transition month.

The USDA has said, “Under the new authority, states are not allowed to issue EA for benefit month March 2023, or later, under any circumstance.”

This means that states cannot issue a transition month to help ease the burden. After February, there will not be any further Emergency Allotments except in the few states that issue their benefits one month after authorization.

For low income families battling soaring food prices, the extra food stamps have been an absolute lifesaver. Losing those benefits is going to hurt millions of people nationwide – especially seniors, many of whom will be dropped to the $23 minimum food stamps allotment in March.

If you see a sudden drop in your benefits, don’t forget that we’ve found free food programs that can help you!.

NEW Text Message EBT Scam

Watch out! There’s a new EBT scam that popped up in January. This one involves text messaging.

Basically, the scammers send a text message claiming that your benefits have been locked. They claim you need to submit your 16-digit EBT card number and PIN in order to unlock your benefits so you can use them. Usually, they’ll ask you to call a number to provide that information. It’s often an 877 number. Sometimes, they’ll ask you to fill out an online form or even just reply to the text message.

No matter what they say or how they ask for it, DO NOT RESPOND. Once they have your EBT card number and PIN, they can steal all of your benefits. Don’t give them that information!

Remember, the government will never text you or ask you for your card number. They refer to your case number, not your card number, so that’s not something that the government will ever ask you for. Keep that information private to protect yourself from scammers!

Are we getting extra food stamps in February 2023?

Since states have until the middle of the month to complete their paperwork, we anticipate adding additional states throughout the month. To make it easy for you to skim the list and quickly find the information that you are looking for, we have decided newly added states will be marked in bold font.

The following states have confirmed that they are issuing extra food stamps in February.

• Alabama (Feb 1)
• California (Feb 4 & 11)
• Colorado (Feb 19-24)
• Connecticut (Feb 15)
• Delaware (Feb 27)
• Guam (Feb 17)
• Hawaii (Feb 13)
• Illinois (Feb 20-28)
• Kansas (Feb 19-28)
• Louisiana (Feb 4, 11, 18 and 25)
• Maine (Feb 10)
• Maryland (Feb 4-23)
• Massachusetts (Feb 2)
• Michigan (Feb 18-28)
• Minnesota (Feb 7-28)
• New Hampshire (Feb 2 and 17)
• New Jersey (Feb 1-5)
• New Mexico (Feb 1-28)
• New York (Feb 10-27 in NYC, Feb 6-22 in rest of state)
• North Carolina (Feb 22-March 3)
• Ohio (Feb 27)
• Oklahoma (Feb 10-15)
• Oregon (Feb 10)
• Pennsylvania (Feb 15-March 1)
• Rhode Island (Feb 3)
• Texas (Feb 2, 6-9)
• Utah (Feb 25)
• Vermont (Feb 14)
• Virginia (Feb 16)
• Washington (Feb 2-20)
• Washington DC (Regular Issuance Date)
• West Virginia (Feb 8)
• Wisconsin (Feb 18)

Which states MAY be getting extra food stamps in February 2023?

States can continue submitting their paperwork until mid-February, so there are some areas we’re not sure about yet. We will continue to update this list as more states confirm their details.

In the meantime, these are the states we aren’t sure about yet:

• Connecticut
• Illinois
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• Ohio

Guam and the Virgin Islands typically submit their paperwork later in the month as well.

Which states are NOT getting extra food stamps in January 2023?

Unfortunately, EBT users in the following states will not receive extra benefits in January 2023 because their states have already terminated their emergency allotment programs:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• North Dakota
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Wyoming

FAQ about Extra Food Stamps in February 2023

We’ve received a lot of questions about the emergency allotment program over the last few years. In this section, we’ll try to answer the questions we’ve received the most.

Nicole Thelin

Nicole is the founder and lead researcher of Low Income Relief. After a personal experience with poverty and homelessness following her husband's sudden medical discharge from the U.S. Army, Nicole discovered the life-changing impact of community resources. This experience ignited her passion for empowering others to navigate similar crises. Nicole launched her writing career at age 16, working for various newspapers and publications. Her commitment to in-depth research and accessible content has been recognized by Google for Publishers and other industry leaders. For over 20 years, she has applied her investigative skills to uncover the most helpful, up-to-date information on benefits programs and community resources, ensuring Low Income Relief maintains the most extensive resource databases available.