LANSING, Mich. — Fewer than 20 percent of households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will see a benefit reduction this fall as a result of changes in the 2014 Farm Bill aimed at cutting program costs.

"A total of about 148,000 households will be affected by the reduction," said Bob Wheaton, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Human Services. For those affected, benefits will be reduced by $76 per month for a four-member household.

Wheaton stressed that it was changes in the federal law, not a state action, which triggered the benefit reduction.

Under the previous farm bill, households who received home heating assistance under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) received a larger monthly food stipend in their SNAP benefits. The Heat and Eat program allowed states to make a nominal payment of $1 toward home energy costs to all SNAP recipients, who then automatically qualified for higher food assistance benefits.

According to Wheaton, some households, particularly renters, have home heating costs calculated into the rent and have no need for home heating assistance.

The 2014 Farm Bill continues the practice of tying additional food benefit dollars to home heating assistance, but requires states to pay each recipient $21 instead of the nominal $1 fee, regardless of the need for home heating assistance.

The burden to Michigan’s treasury would be more than $2.9 million or 16 percent of the 2015 LIHEAP budget and is not a sustainable, long-term solution for the state’s taxpayers. The fund reduction would cause more than 50,000 families to lose access to emergency funds if the heat were to be turned off in their homes this winter.

Wheaton stressed those low-income households that pay for home heating costs separately from rent will continue to receive SNAP benefits at the higher rate established within the farm bill.

New clients will not automatically receive the old standard utility allowance. Existing clients will be evaluated during their annual redetermination to see if changes to their SNAP benefits are required under the new policy.

Will a loss of food dollars through SNAP benefits adversely affect the state’s food processors and farmers who rely on federal benefit assistance programs as part of their gross income? Wheaton hopes the loss will be negligible.

"We are encouraging people even more to use the Double Up Food Bucks Program through the department to stretch their SNAP benefits further," Wheaton said.

The program allows SNAP recipients to double the value of dollars spent on local fruits and vegetables at participating farm markets and retail grocers through the summer and into fall. Users need only to ask if the benefit is available at their nearest farm market. The program is gaining momentum throughout the state’s farm market network and has been embraced by a small number of retail grocery chains. Information on the Double Up Food Bucks program can be found at www.doubleupfoodbucks.org