SNAP numbers on the rise in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The number of people seeking assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are on the rise over previous years in South Dakota.

SNAP helps low-income South Dakotans buy food. SNAP benefits are not intended to cover all of a person or family’s food costs but will help with purchasing food. The allotment for SNAP is calculated by multiplying the household’s net monthly income by 0.3, and subtracting the result from the maximum monthly allotment for household size.

The overall number of households participating in SNAP in 2024 is up from the last two years with the total number of households as of July reaching 37,614 and the total number of individuals on SNAP reaching 75,884, at the same time last year there were 35,106 SNAP households and the total number of individuals reached 72,019, in the same time in 2022 they have 33,847 SNAP households with 71,057 individuals.

According to a study from 2022 sixty-five percent of food insecure individuals do not qualify for SNAP benefits in South Dakota. Sales tax cannot be charged when SNAP is used to make a purchase.

As of July 2024, a total of $15,111,392 in SNAP benefits has been awarded for South Dakotans, compared to the total at the same time last year of $13,897,980 and in 2022 there was a total of in July $11,991,077.

South Dakota has a food insecurity rate of 11.7%. Over 106,000 South Dakotans are food insecure, meaning one in every nine people in South Dakota do not know where their next meal will come from.

The average monthly benefit for SNAP households in South Dakota as of July 2024 was $401.75 compared to the same time last year when the average was $395.89 or in 2022 when the average was $354.27.

Nearly 38,000 children in South Dakota are food insecure meaning one in every six children in South Dakota do not have access to enough food for a healthy lifestyle.

South Dakota has previously passed on programs to help food-secure individuals such as the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, a program created by Congress that allows eligible low-income households to receive funds for groceries over the three summer months. The state said the reason they passed on the program is that summer meal programs are already offered and it would be too challenging to administer the program.

Minnehaha County was the county that saw the most people participate in SNAP, where they saw 8,904 households participating as of July 2024. Last year saw 7,884 households participate over the same time last year. 2022 saw 7,479 participating households at the same time last year.

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