Additional September emergency food assistance benefits related to pandemic to be issued

LANSING – All Michigan families who are eligible for food assistance benefits are receiving an additional monthly payment in September in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced today.

"No Michigander should go hungry during a pandemic, and I am grateful to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for working hard to keep our communities safe and healthy," said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. "This additional federal funding from the Biden administration will help us provide additional dollars to feed 1.25 million Michiganders in close to 700,000 households. If we continue working with our federal partners and putting Michiganders first, we can continue delivering real change that makes a difference in people's lives and help usher in a new era of prosperity for our families, communities and small businesses."

Eligible clients will see additional food assistance benefits on their Bridge Card from Sept. 18-28. Additional benefits will be loaded onto Bridge Cards as a separate payment from the assistance that is provided earlier in the month.

"MDHHS remains committed to continuing to help families affected by the pandemic put food on the table," said MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel. "Addressing food insecurity is one of the department's top priorities and becomes even more important during a pandemic."

Some Michiganders began receiving additional food assistance in April 2020 after the beginning of the pandemic that started the month before. In May 2021, all eligible households began getting extra monthly benefits. Federal approval is necessary every month.

All households eligible for SNAP receive an increase of at least $95 monthly, even if they are already receiving the maximum payment or are close to that amount. Households that received over $95 to bring them to the maximum payment for their group size will continue to receive that larger amount.

Below are the maximum allowable benefits for SNAP customers based on their respective household size:

One Person: $234

Two Persons: $430

Three Persons: $616

Four Persons: $782

Five Persons: $929

Six Persons: $1,114

Seven Persons: $1,232

Eight Persons: $1,408

The federal government is providing additional funding to states for food assistance under House Resolution 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

Eligible families do not need to re-apply to receive the additional benefits. People who receive food assistance can check their benefits balance on their Michigan Bridge Card by going online to http://www.michigan.gov/MIBridges or calling a consumer service representative toll-free at 888-678-8914. They can ask questions about the additional benefits by calling or emailing their caseworker.

Customer service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Spanish and Arabic service is available. If you are deaf, deafblind, or hard of hearing or speech-impaired, call the Michigan Relay Center at 7-1-1.

Information around the COVID-19 outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.