USDA is an Equal Opportunity Provider, Employer and Lender
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Month-To-
Month Contingent Approval to Continue Issuing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) Emergency Allotments (EA) Benefits under the
Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020
Section 2302(a)(1) of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, allows States to
request COVID-19 EA “for households participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance
program… to address temporary food needs.” The State must support its request with sufficient
data, as determined through FNS guidance. A household’s EA cannot increase the current
monthly household SNAP benefit allotment beyond “the applicable maximum monthly allotment
for the household size.” Accordingly, SNAP households that already receive the maximum
monthly allotment for their household size are not eligible for EA.
States that have already received FNS approval for EA issuance in March and April, or
April and May, are approved to continue issuing EA benefits each month. This approval to
extend these EAs will remain in place until such a time as the Secretary for Health and
Human Services rescinds the public health emergency declaration that was issued on
January 27, 2020, under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act or the State-issued
emergency or disaster declaration expires.
This approval is contingent upon the State submitting the information below to the FNS Region
no sooner than the 15
th
of each month for the subsequent month and awaiting FNS
acknowledgement before sending the Emergency Allotment issuance file(s) to their Electronic
Benefits Transfer processor.
Prior to each month of EA issuance, the State shall provide the following information to its
FNS Regional SNAP contact(s), who will acknowledge receipt:
State/Territory: _________________________
1. [Month] EA Issuance date(s):
____________________________________________________________
(Provide exact dates of planned EA issuance for the month or annotate above if the
State will be providing EA benefits in accordance with the State’s regular issuance
schedule.)
2. [Month] estimate of the number of households and estimated EA amount:
Number of households receiving emergency allotment benefits: _________________
Amount of emergency allotment benefits issued for one month: $________________
3. Confirmation that one or more of the following conditions exists due to
COVID-19. (Check all that apply):
Residents of the State are confirmed to have contracted COVID-19
Some or all areas of the State are containment or quarantine zones
Businesses have closed or significantly reduced their hours
The State’s residents have experienced economic impacts due to job
suspensions or losses
