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Monday, Dec. 1, 2025

Did Minnesota’s total SNAP benefits increase from 2019 to 2021?

Nikita Vashisth, MinnPost
yes

Minnesota’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) issuance — the total value of benefits distributed — increased by about 116% from 2019 to 2021. 

According to SNAP statistics provided by the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families, the state’s issuance was $509.5 million in 2019 and $1.1 billion in 2021.

Issuance is influenced by both participation levels and average benefit amount. On average each month, 381,779 Minnesotans received SNAP benefits in 2019 compared with 445,377 in 2021, a 17% increase. 

Nationally, SNAP issuance also grew during this period by about 95.5% in 2021, up from $55.6 billion in 2019. 

This rise reflects federal policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including higher participation, a temporary 15% benefit boost, emergency allotments, and an update to USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 

Editor’s note: This fact brief has been updated to correct figures for 2021 – both the average monthly number of Minnesotans receiving SNAP benefits and the amount of money issued. The figures included in the initial version of this fact brief included Pandemic EBT data that was incorrectly included in a federal SNAP State Activities report.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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