Now it's 23.00 less. Update:



Cuts to Ohio food assistance to be less than estimated

What’s called the “standard utility allowance” — the amount deducted from a person’s income when the state determines his or her eligibility for the food stamp program — will decrease in 2013, which originally translated to about $50 less monthly per household in food assistance.

State Job and Family Services officials tried to appeal the change to the Agriculture Department, which oversees the food stamp program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or SNAP — but the department had denied the request.

However, on Thursday, the state’s Department of Job and Family Services asked the Agriculture Department to use a different calculation that takes into account the cost of electric heat and propane.

The federal department approved the change Friday.

As a result, households’ monthly benefit will decrease by $23 instead of $50.
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