The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA; P.L. 111-5) included an across-the-board increase in benefits provided under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp program), effective in April 2009. ARRA substantially raised maximum monthly benefits, by 13.6% in FY2009. For a one-person household, the added benefit was $24 a month; for two persons, $44 a month; for three persons (the most typical household), $63 a month; for four persons, $80 a month; and for larger households, higher amounts. As a result, average household SNAP benefits (typically less than the maximum) were boosted by more than 15%. (Note: A household’s SNAP benefit is calculated by subtracting the household-specific countable (or “net”) income from the maximum benefit; percentage increases varied on a case-by-case basis.) Originally, the ARRA increase was to be effective until regular SNAP cost-of-living adjustments “caught up” with the 13.6% increase (as compared to FY2009) to the maximum benefit, but Congress amended the law so that the increase is now scheduled to sunset after October 31, 2013. (Under “regular” SNAP law, maximum SNAP benefits are adjusted annually for changes in food prices on October 1.)