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.
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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.