LINCOLN- Twenty state senators wrote letters to urge the governor to join the rest of the country in extending emergency food aid in the pandemic. Nebraska is the only state not taking additional federal dollars for those on food stamps. This would help 173,000 Nebraskans, which is mostly disabled people and the elderly.

Senator John McCollister says there is no obvious reason as to why Nebraska is not asking for greater assistance. According to state figures, 60% of Nebraska food stamps recipients would receive more money. The U.S. Agriculture Department calculates that a five-person household would receive an extra $240 to buy food per month.

This extended program manifests itself in SNAP which would allow for the maximum amount of benefits to be given to all recipients. The federal government would be paying the entire cost of the extra food aid as well as half of the administrative costs. Administrators at food banks say they could use all the help they could possibly get after seeing an influx of 61% of people using their services.

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