Food stamp benefits in the United States may get a record bump as the administration of President Joe Biden is likely to announce a permanent increase to the plan, according to media reports. The move is expected to lay down benefits for more than 42 million people in the United States.

According to reports from Politico citing officials from the Biden administration, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s average monthly benefits will be bumped up by 27% in comparison to the pre-pandemic figures. That comes out to an increase of about 40 cents per meal.

The ‘Thrifty Food Plan’, which is an estimate provided by the United States Department of Agriculture on what it costs to purchase a nutritious meal while possessing minimal resources, will be revamped by the Biden administration in order to boost benefits of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The United States Department of Agriculture, which was earlier asked by the country’s lawmakers to update the plan by 2022 to keep it aligned with the current situation. The department, however, fast-tracked the process and will introduce changes on Monday.

According to reports from Politico, the estimate will now take into account consumable products such as canned beans, frozen and chopped vegetables, bagged salads and other convenience foods as such items are now more readily available in the United States than in 2006, when the plan was last updated.

According to the official from Biden’s administration, the average monthly benefit will be boosted to $157, swiftly moving up from the previous average of $121 per person, Politico reported.

Under the administration of former United States President Donald Trump, the Republican party rallied against such a move and attempted to impose regulations that would limit the number of people who would be eligible for claiming under the scheme. However, the Senate did not approve of this change previously and the programme was left untouched.