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State blames reporting errors for outsized SNAP payout figures

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Published  November 7, 2025 7:40pm CST
Economy
FOX 9
Why did SNAP benefits in MN soar in recent years?

Why did SNAP benefits in MN soar in recent years?

FOX 9's Mike Manzoni explains why SNAP benefits had a large increase in Minnesota in the last few years.

The Brief

    • Federal records show SNAP payouts in Minnesota shot up 174% between 2020 and 2021.
    • The payouts went from about $725 million in 2020 to nearly $2 billion the following year.
    • The state said reporting errors lead to the higher figures, and said it plans to correct them when the government shutdown ends.

(FOX 9) - The state on Friday said reporting errors led to what appeared to be dramatic spikes in federal food benefit payouts in recent years. The agency that administers the program in Minnesota issued the explanation after a Republican state lawmaker and others on social media questioned the numbers.

State says reporting errors led to spike in SNAP figures

By the numbers:

According to federal data, SNAP payouts nearly tripled between 2020 and 2021, jumping from about $725 million to $1.9 billion. The spike marked the largest jump nationwide. The nearly $2 billion total stayed about the same in 2022 before dropping by about $400 million in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available.

SNAP payments to Minnesota when comparing 2020 to 2021. (FOX 9)

The explanation:

In a statement, the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families said: "DCYF has reviewed federal reports submitted to USDA during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Minnesota mistakenly included Pandemic EBT in the FNS-46 submission, which is the basis for the numbers in the SNAP State Activities report. Not only was Pandemic EBT included, it was included on two lines of the report in a way that double counted these expenditures. We look forward to revising these reports with FNS when the federal government shutdown ends.

"Fraud, waste and abuse is incredibly rare in SNAP. Unfortunately, what is more common is thieves stealing benefits by skimming EBT cards at point-of-sale terminals they've tampered with."

The reporting errors do not mean that taxpayer dollars were mistakenly doled out; it means that the state incorrectly tallied the numbers.

What we don't know:

The state said it does not yet know what the correct figures were.

What's next:

The state said it plans to submit corrected figures to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, when the government shutdown ends.

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