Learn more about Hawaiʻi’s decreases in SNAP allotments ↓

Hawaiʻi is the only state where Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are being cut—even while most other states are seeing small increases.

How much are benefits dropping?

  • On average, Hawaiʻi families are seeing about $8 less per person each month.

  • For a family of four, that’s about $34 less every month.

  • These cuts started in 2023 and will continue for the next several years.

Why does this matter?

  • Many families in Hawaiʻi already struggle to make ends meet.

  • SNAP benefits help fill the gap — but with less money coming in, households might have trouble affording enough food.

  • Many people have already shared that current SNAP benefits don’t cover what’s needed.

  • Every month, SNAP adds an average of $53 million to the grocery buying power of Hawaiʻi families. These cuts will harm families relying on SNAP to survive, local businesses, farmers, and food producers that depend on local businesses

 FAQs

  • The Thrifty Food Plan decides the maximum monthly SNAP benefits for families based on food costs.

  • The USDA updated how it calculates food costs specifically for Hawaiʻi beginning in FFY 2023. This showed prior estimates were too high, so maximum benefits were reduced to reflect local prices based on a specific index which is detailed in this report (see page v). These cuts started in October 2022 and are ongoing.

  • In 2021, when the USDA calculated maximum SNAP allotments for the mainland, they lacked a detailed study into Hawaiʻi’s food prices. To make up for the cost of living, they added a temporary adjustment which increased Hawaiʻi’s allotments to be over $1,700 for 2 years. After doing further analysis based on Honolulu-only data, they calculated the maximum allotment to be much lower, at $1,432.40. The allotments which decrease in phases to reach that number until FFY 2029 (see chart above).

  • The current calculations of the Thrifty Food Plan for Hawaiʻi are based off of Honolulu food prices only. The USDA previously had a proposed rule change to include neighbor island data, which many advocates from Hawaiʻi commented on. That process has since been paused and it is unclear if there are any plans to continue that process.

  • This reduction in allotments did not come from HR1. They began in FY 2023. HR1 did stop the proposed rule change which would include neighbor island data in the calculation of the maximum allotments, but otherwise the reductions are completely separate from HR1.

  • To learn more about how the maximum monthly SNAP benefits for families are calculation for Hawaiʻi, visit the 2023 FNS report here.