13.6 pct. cut in food stamp benefits

The Nutrition Assistance Program, which handles the food stamp program in the CNMI, will be reducing benefit levels by 13.6 percent starting tomorrow, May 1.

The reduction, which will be in effect until the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30, 2012, is a result of the increase in the number of applicants who have become qualified and have to be accommodated under the program, said Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Melvin Faisao.

Faisao said in an interview Friday that a review of the program’s list of clients showed that it “has continuously increased and it went beyond our projection” in contrast to the $13 million it received for fiscal year 2012.

Although the agency has yet to finalize the exact figures, he said the number of eligible clients has already exceeded 10,000.

NAP last slashed food stamp benefits in May 2011 by 34.6 percent, also to accommodate the increasing number of beneficiaries, totaling 9,700 as of June 2011.

“In order to continue issuing this benefit without cutting off eligible applicants, we have to restructure our benefit level so that everybody still has a share of what we have, that which has been awarded to us by the [U.S. Department of Agriculture],” Faisao told Saipan Tribune.

Faisao emphasized that the 13.6-percent cut “would be fairly applied to all qualified applicants.”

“The Fitial-Inos administration wholeheartedly believes that anybody who is qualified should be given the opportunity to receive this benefit but they should understand that the funding is very meager and that’s the reason why we have to restructure our benefit level,” he added.

When asked for comment, press secretary Angel A. Demapan said that Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has asked Faisao to seek available funding options following the unexpected increase in food stamp recipients by communicating with the granting agency.

“This latest increase in the number of recipients is worrisome because it reflects an increased dependency on welfare programs and lesser interest in workforce development,” he added.

When asked how the reduction would impact families who already endure rising fuel prices, utilities, and other basic necessities, Faisao replied, “It gives them less benefits. But I believe it’s a time of reckoning. Nations all around the world have been affected by the slow economic recovery.”

In the meantime, Faisao said that DCCA and NAP are working on setting up “satellite or outreach offices” to serve food stamp beneficiaries who have transportation problems.

These satellite offices, which will be conducted twice a week, will be located at the Carolinian Affairs Office in Garapan; the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe to cover residents from Oleai, Susupe, Chalan Kanoa, and San Antonio; and at the Kagman Community Center.

Faisao said the schedule of the satellite offices will be finalized in May and will be announced soon.

“We will set up those satellite offices to work with our clients in reviewing the current applications and we want to inform them about the implementation of the reduction,” he added.

For more information, call 664-2571.