A working mother in North Carolina just learned a hard lesson about America’s food assistance program. Maria Thompson got a 50-cent raise at her grocery store job, but it cost her family much more than she gained.
Maria is 34 years old and raises three kids on her own. She works full time and makes $14.50 every hour. Her family got $768 each month in SNAP benefits, which most people call food stamps. This money helped her buy groceries and feed her children who are 6, 9, and 12 years old.
In September, her boss gave her a raise to $15 per hour. That sounds like good news, right? But the extra $87 she earned each month made her lose $200 in food stamp benefits. She ended up with less money than before the raise.
This problem is called a “benefits cliff.” It happens when you earn a little more money but lose a lot more in government help. Many working families across America face this same trap. About 1.3 million families deal with benefit cliffs that make them poorer when they try to work harder.
Here is what happened to Maria’s money:
- Before the raise: She made $2,523 per month and got $768 in food stamps
- After the raise: She made $2,610 per month but only got $568 in food stamps
- The result: She lost $113 every month even though she got a raise
Maria said she cried when she saw her new benefit amount. “I thought I was doing the right thing by working hard,” she explained. “Now I skip meals so my kids can eat. I even thought about asking my boss to give me less hours.”
The rules for SNAP benefits are very strict. Families must earn less than 130% of the poverty line to qualify. For a family of four, that means making less than $3,529 per month. If you earn even one dollar more, your benefits get cut by a lot.
Some states have better rules. California and Pennsylvania let families earn up to $5,430 per month and still get some help. But most states like North Carolina use the stricter rules that hurt working families.
Maria fought back and asked the food stamp office to check her case again. She found out they made a mistake. The worker forgot to count the $400 she pays for after-school childcare. After fixing this error, she got $82 more per month back.
Experts say families should know about all the deductions they can claim:
- Childcare costs for kids under 13 years old
- Housing costs if you pay more than half your income for rent
- Medical bills for elderly or disabled family members
- Standard deduction of about $198 for bigger families
This system pushes people to stay poor instead of helping them get ahead. Parents are scared to take promotions at work. Workers ask for fewer hours to keep their benefits. Getting a better job becomes a punishment instead of a reward.
Many policy experts want to change these rules. They say benefits should go down slowly as people earn more money. Some states are testing new programs that give families extra time to adjust before cutting their food assistance.
If you get SNAP benefits and might get a raise soon, you need to be careful. Calculate how much you might lose before you accept more hours or a promotion. Keep records of all your expenses like childcare and rent. If your benefits seem wrong, ask for a review right away.
Maria now helps other families learn about these rules through a local advocacy group. She wants lawmakers to fix a system that forces parents to choose between a paycheck and feeding their children. “Don’t punish people for working,” she said. “Fix the system that makes families choose between earning money and eating food.”
Until the government changes these rules, working families need to understand benefit cliffs, claim all their deductions, and connect with food banks and community programs for extra help. Knowledge about these programs can mean the difference between going hungry and getting by.
