November 2009 – Thanks to some strategic moves between WISCAP, the Department of Health Services, and the Department Of Administration, many households around the state saw an increase in their monthly Food Share benefits, which means millions of dollars of revenue to our community in the form of federal nutrition aid. Here’s what happened.
Previously, households who did not receive LIHEAP (Low Income Heating & Energy Assistance Program) payments had to provide proof of the utilities they paid, and had those individual costs deducted from their gross income, which in turn assesses Food Share eligibility. Receivers of LIHEAP, however, had an automatic deduction of $308 off their gross income, which tended to be a lot more than individual utilities on their own. Following a similar program in Massachusetts, WISCAP was able to have the Department of Administration (who administers LIHEAP) make a nominal payment of $1 to all Food Share recipients, thus making them eligible for the automatic deduction!
What does this mean?
It’s estimated that 30% of households on Food Share in Wisconsin who weren’t previously receiving LIHEAP payments saw average increases of $50/month with the new changes, which took effect in April 2009. Furthermore, the Department of Health Services estimates that this will bring in $30 to $36 million annually in direct federal nutrition benefits, with a local economic impact for grocers and other retailers between $54 to $65 million per year.
The most obvious benefit here is to the Food Share recipient, who directly benefits from having more money in their monthly Food Share allotment. But the benefits are all around: case workers have less paperwork when they no longer have to ask for information about utilities. Local grocers and markets see more money coming through when their clientele has more to spend
As WISCAP Program Manager Jonathan Bader pointed out, “This is a win-win situation for low-income families, local communities and state government because it utilizes federal energy funds to bring in more federal nutrition funds, and increases the capacity of thousands of food insecure households to buy nutritious food at local grocery stores rather than utilizing emergency food providers.” That sounds like a win-win to us. Great work to everyone involved!
