Are we getting extra food stamps this month?

Countless people have asked “Are we getting extra food stamps this month?” and it’s a great question! This page has helped us answer that question for the last several years while the Emergency Allotments were issued during the pandemic. Now that those programs are winding up, we’re still updating with the last states that will continue issuing those benefits.

You can always reference the update date above to see when this post was last updated.

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Are we getting extra food stamps this month?

The answer in most states is no. The federal government declared an end to the Emergency Allotment program in the most recent Omnibus bill. According to that new law, the Emergency Allotment program will end at the end of February 2023.

A few states will get extra food stamps in March 2023 because they issue their payments a month after approval. However, the vast majority of states will not receive extra food stamps this month or any month in the future.

Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for live updates as this situation evolves.

What states are issuing extra food stamps this month?

Let’s go through the states alphabetically to discover which states will still be issuing extra benefits this month.

Alabama

Alabama’s final disbursement will occur on March 1, 2023. This payment is for benefits that were approved for the month of February. Because Alabama has always issued their payments one month late, they are able to issue this final payment in March. The state expects 393,341 households to receive this extra payment.

Alaska

Alaska stopped issuing extra food stamps in August 2022. At the time, the state of Alaska indicated that this was the final transition month for their benefits.

Arizona

Arizona’s last month for extra benefits was April 2022. This is because Arizona’s state of emergency declaration expired on March 30, 2022.

Arkansas

Arkansas ended their extra food stamps payments in June 2021. At that time, the state claimed that 114,098 households were receiving emergency benefits.

California

California issues their emergency benefits the month after they are authorized. California was approved to send extra food stamps benefits in February 2023 and those benefits will be issued on March 25, 2023 to all recipients. Almost three million Californians rely on these extra benefits to feed their families.

Colorado

Colorado’s final emergency allotment was sent between February 8, 2023 and February 13, 2023. This benefit was provided to 286,000 people in Colorado.

Connecticut

Connecticut issued their final emergency allotment on February 15, 2023. This benefit helped 219,752 households.

Delaware

Delaware has scheduled their final emergency allotment payment for February 27, 2023. This benefit helped 60,492 households.

District of Columbia

Washington DC issued extra benefits for February 2023 to 84,100 households.

Florida

Florida ended their emergency allotments in July 2021. In their final waiver, the state wrote, “The current Executive Order will expire June 26, 2021. Florida will utilize July as the transition month for emergency allotments.” As a result, more than 1.6 million households lost access to extra food stamps.

Georgia

Georgia has not been approved to issue extra benefits since May 2022. According to the Georgia State Division of Family & Children Services website, May will be the final month for benefits and no additional benefits will be issued after that time.

Guam

Guam received an emergency allotment waiver and provided extra food stamps benefits on February 17, 2023 to the 11,441 households who receive them.

Hawaii

Hawaii has also been approved to issue extra benefits in February 2023. These benefits will be sent on March 14, 2023 to 83,901 households.

Idaho

Idaho stopped participating in pandemic-related food stamps boosts in March 2021. They have not requested any waivers since that time.

Illinois

Illinois will issue their final emergency allotment in February 2023. Their payments will be issued on a staggered schedule between February 20 and 28. Generally, you can expect your benefits about 20 days after your normal issuance date (but no later than the 28th).

There are 1,058,837 residents of Illinois who are relying on these benefits and will not get them in March.

Indiana

Indiana’s most recent waiver was granted in May 2022. They plan to send the extra funds on the regular issuance date. They usually send food stamps between the 5th and 23rd of each month on odd days only.

Iowa

Iowa’s Governor Reynolds ended the state’s health emergency in February 2022. The state issued extra food stamps for March 2022 on the regular issuance date but will not be sending extra benefits going forward.

Kansas

Kansas was also approved for February 2023. Those who are eligible for February benefits will be issued March 22nd and 31st, 2023. These benefits will help 63,000 households in Kansas.

Kentucky

Kentucky has not been approved to issue extra food stamps since April 2022. The extra amounts were sent between April 2 and 19 according to the regular schedule, which is determined by the last digit of the account holder’s social security number.

Louisiana

Louisiana’s last emergency allotment issuance occurred on February 4, 11, 18, and 25 of 2023. These benefits were sent to 450,000 households.

Maine

Maine sent extra food stamps on February 10, 2023 to 91,508 households.

Maryland

Maryland was approved for February 2023. Those benefits were sent between February 4 2023 and February 23, 2023 to 347,320 households.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts has been approved to distribute extra food stamps in January 2023. They will issue extra benefits on February 2, 2022, as part of their January waiver. This benefit will affect 628,754 households in Massachusetts.

Michigan

Michigan issued extra food stamps between February 18th through February 28th, 2023. This benefit was sent to approximately 705,350 households.

Minnesota

Minnesota issues their extra benefits the month after they receive approval. January’s extra benefits will be sent between February 7-9, 13-16, 20-23, and 27-28.

Why the delay? The waiver states, “Minnesota cannot issue emergency benefits in real time, and is using a combination of automation and manual processes to issue over a series of days, hence the one-month lag time.”

Mississippi

Mississippi ended their emergency program in December 2021.

In their request, the state wrote, “The State of Emergency Declaration for Mississippi is expiring November 20, 2021. Therefore, the SA is requesting that December 2021 serve as the transition month for Emergency Allotments.”

Missouri

Missouri’s State of Emergency Declaration ended in mid-August 2021. As a result, the state has not requested any extra food stamps since that time.

Montana

Montana ended their program in July 2021. They have not requested any additional waivers since that time.

Nebraska

Nebraska stopped issuing extra food stamps in July 2021. Their final waiver said, “The Nebraska State of Emergency ended June 30, 2021. July 2021 will be considered our phase-out month unless the Governor approves the continuation of Emergency Allotment issuances.”

Nevada

Nevada has not requested an extension since December 2022. It appears that may have been their final month.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire was approved to issue extra food stamps in February. These extra benefits will be sent on February 2nd, 2023, February 17th, 2023, and a catch-up issuance will be released on March 17th, 2023 for anyone who did not receive those benefits in the month of February.

New Jersey

New Jersey issued extra food stamps between February 1-5 to 388,000 households.

New Mexico

New Mexico issued extra food stamps in February but there was no clarity about when the 259,467 households would receive their specific payment.

New York

New York sent extra food stamps in February 2023 to more than 1,610,000 households that rely on this program. The dates vary based on whether or not you live in New York City. 

North Carolina

North Carolina sent extra food stamps benefits in February 2023. Those benefits will be sent over 10 days between February 22nd and March 3. These supplements benefited 813,076 households in North Carolina.

North Dakota

North Dakota phased out their extra food stamps program in May 2021. In their final waiver, the state wrote, “North Dakota’s Emergency Health Declaration expired on April 30, 2021. May 2021 will be North Dakota’s transition month to phase out the emergency allotments.”

Ohio

Ohio was approved to issue extra food stamps in February 2023. They planned to distribute those extra benefits on February 27, 2023.  This benefit helped 673,339 households in Ohio this month.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma sent extra food stamps in February 2023. These benefits were sent overnight between the 10th and 15th of the month. According to their recent filing, “The job has to be run in smaller files each night so as not to interrupt the normal issuance of benefits.”

This benefit helped 325,679 households in Oklahoma.

Oregon

Oregon has been approved to issue extra food stamps in February 2023. These benefits will be sent on February 10, 2023. Any household that was missed or added after that date will receive their benefits on February 27, 2023. If any households are missed or added after that date, they will receive their extra benefits on March 1, 2023.

These extra food stamps helped 416,115 households in Oregon.

Pennsylvania

The state has also been approved to issue extra food stamps in February 2023. The benefits for February will be sent between February 15 and March 1. Anyone who missed January’s payments will receive them on March 10, and anyone who missed February’s payments will receive them on April 7.

This benefits helped 1,042,615 households in Pennsylvania.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island issued their final emergency allotment on February 3, 2023 to 81,077  households.

South Carolina

South Carolina ended their emergency allotment program in January 2023. At that time, 300,853 households in South Carolina lost access to the extra food stamps.

South Dakota

South Dakota ended their emergency benefits in July 2021.

Tennessee

Tennessee ended their emergency food stamps benefits in December 2021. In their final waiver, the state wrote, “TN will be utilizing December 2021 as a transition emergency allotment month. TN will be providing EA benefits in accordance with the State’s regular issuance schedule (1st through 20th).”

Texas

Texas received approval for February 2023. They sent the benefits on a randomized staggered schedule from February 2nd and February 9th.  Over 1,337,451 households will receive these extra benefits.

Utah

Utah received approval to issue extra food stamps benefits in February 2023. The issuance date for benefits will be on February 25, 2023. This will benefit 77,322 households in Utah.

Vermont

Vermont received approval in February to issue extra food stamps on March 14, 2023. There are about 41,316 households in this state that are relying on these extra benefits.

Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands will issue extra food stamps for the month of January 2023. This helped 11,323 households in the Islands.

Virginia

Virginia sent extra food stamps on February 16, 2023 to 460,000 households in Virginia.

Washington

Washington sent extra benefits for February on the regular SNAP benefit issuance date to 513,702 households in Washington State.

West Virginia

West Virginia sent extra food stamps on February 8, 2023. Anyone who missed the February payout should receive it on March 8. These extra food stamps will benefit 169,593 households in West Virginia.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin sent their extras on February 18, 2023. January’s missed payments will be sent on March 11, 2023. February’s missed payments will be sent on April 8, 2023.

These extra food stamps benefited 346,628 households in Wisconsin.

Wyoming

Wyoming has not been approved to issue extra food stamps since April 2022. The final disbursement dates were as follows.

Frequently Asked Questions about Extra Food Stamps in 2023

Everybody needs to eat so naturally everyone has questions about the extra food stamps benefits that have been issued since 2020. We’ve received a lot of questions, and we’re doing our best to answer them as quickly as we can. Here are some of the most common questions that we are asked.

Why are they giving extra food stamps this month?

The extra food stamps benefits are emergency allotments, based on the federal emergency health declaration for COVID-19. Because of the economic impact of the virus, certain states are continuing to send extra food stamps to low income households so that they can afford the groceries they need.

What if I didn’t get my extra food stamps on time?

We can only report the information that we are given by the United States Department of Agriculture. There may be delays due to processing time. In some cases, certain accounts may be missed on the assigned date but should receive their benefits when a future “catch up” issuance is made. If you do not receive the funds that you are expecting, you should always contact the local food stamps office in your state.

How do I get the extra food stamps?

The emergency allotments are given to all eligible households in a given area. All you have to do is apply for food stamps and wait for the benefits to be delivered.

Why didn’t I get extra food stamps?!

Many people have asked us why they didn’t receive the extra. There are a few reasons for this:

1. You may live in an area that has already stopped issuing emergency allotments. Check our list to make sure.
2. You may already be receiving the maximum benefit for your household size.
3. You may have started receiving benefits after the cutoff for that issuance date. If that’s the case, you’ll receive it later when a “catch up” issuance is made.
4. You may have started receiving food stamps after the EA program began. If that’s the case, you’ve been receiving the extra all along and it may not feel like extra to you. You will need to check your paperwork to discover how much you’ll be getting when the EA program ends, because it will likely be much lower than you’re getting now.

When will the extra food stamps come?

It depends on your state. You can see a schedule in this article. Those payments may be separate from your regular EBT payment schedule.

Is there any other way to get additional food stamps?

Possibly! The amount of food stamps you receive generally depends on your household size and income. There are some ways that you can legally increase the amount of food stamps you receive. Discover how to get more food stamps here.

Nicole Thelin

Nicole is the owner and lead researcher for Low Income Relief. She has over 20 years of professional research and writing experience, and she has been solely dedicated to investigating low income topics for the last 10 years. Nicole started Low Income Relief after a personal experience with poverty. When her husband was medically discharged from the US Army, their family experienced tremendous financial hardship. Nicole was able to gather help from multiple community agencies and move into a nearby low income housing unit in just two weeks! Since then, Nicole has been dedicated to helping low income families in crisis. She regularly spends hundreds of hours combing through countless resources to make sure that Low Income Relief has the most comprehensive and complete resource directories on the internet today. Prior to starting Low Income Relief, Nicole worked as a novelist, journalist, ghostwriter and content creator. Her work has been featured in various print and online publications, including USA Today, The Daily Herald, The Chronicle and more. Her work has also been featured by Google for Publishers and other leading industry publications.