U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand recently announced the Enhance Access to SNAP Act, dubbed the “EATS Act,” which would expand Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to all 2- and 4-year university college students who meet the income and eligibility requirements.
Gillibrand’s team asserts the importance of the act coming at a time when COVID-19 provisions that expanded SNAP eligibility for college students are set to expire on June 11.
“We need to simplify eligibility for critical SNAP benefits to combat food insecurity plaguing low-income college students across New York State and the country,” said Gillibrand when announcing the EATS Act at Baruch College. “The EATS Act would eliminate work-for-food barriers for low-income students and ensure that as many as 4 million college students nationwide can access the SNAP benefits needed to learn and thrive. College students should never have to choose between food and their education–the time to act is now.”
Current SNAP eligibility does not necessarily extend to those living on college campuses, nor to students that do not work at least 20 hours each week or participate in a federal or state work study, according to Gillibrand's team. With this change, 470,000 New York college students would qualify for SNAP assistance, including up to 290,000 newly eligible students. This bill is cosponsored by Sens. Cory Booker, Peter Welch, Sheldon Whitehouse, Chris Van Hollen, Bernie Sanders, Richard Blumenthal, Alex Padilla, Ron Wyden, and Bob Casey.
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