Americans in One City Are Getting $300 to Help Pay for Food

Some residents in Boulder, Colorado, have just a few months left to apply for $300 in free cash.

Boulder is one city that offers low-income residents a food tax rebate to help pay surging food prices. As inflation remains at 3.1 percent for the year ending in January, many Americans are struggling to afford everyday necessities like groceries.

But if you meet certain criteria in Boulder, you could earn an extra $300 to put toward those costs. The deadline to apply for the rebate is June 30.

The food tax rebate started in 1967 as a way to limit the financial impact of city sales taxes on food on those with a lower income.

You can get the payment if you have a disability, are 62 or older, or had a child under 18 during 2023. Beyond that, you also must meet certain financial criteria and confirm that you lived in Boulder for entire year.

For 2023, residents had to make less than $46,500, or $53,150 for a family of two. Those with families of four could make up to $66,400.

Those who qualify will see payments of $104, or $318 for families. That's an uptick from 2023 rebate amounts, reflecting the widespread inflation Boulder residents and Americans more broadly faced during the year.

The rebate is predicted to serve thousands of residents. In 2023, Boulder said the city approved 1,093 applications out of roughly 1,200 received. Of those, 679 of the payments went to seniors, 267 to families and the rest to those with disabilities. Altogether, Boulder spent $162,000 in the direct payments.

"This is the type of financial relief most Americans are looking for from their government at local, state and national levels," financial literacy instructor Alex Beene told Newsweek.

"While food inflation is no longer rising at the same pace it was in the past two years, prices are still substantially higher than they were just a few years ago. And while many Americans have seen wage increases, the dollars can't be stretched as far as they once could, especially for a family of four or more."

Beene said the targeted assistance should become more widespread than just Boulder, as many Americans report feeling the pinch of higher food prices.

"Rebates like these that are small yet substantial can offer some relief from the new financial reality we all face when we go to buy food to put on our tables," Beene said.

Applications in Boulder can be sent via the city's website, and those who earned the payment in 2023 should expect this year's application in the mail.

Other states and cities have passed similar payments to help residents struggling to keep up with higher costs and economic uncertainty.

In Minnesota, residents earned a $260 rebate courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Revenue as part of a $1 billion program.

Alabama sent out a $300 check to joint filers last year. The state spent $393 million on the refunds, with the checks coming fully from a $2.8 billion surplus in the Education Trust Fund. Similar to Boulder's checks, the payments were intended to help residents offset grocery taxes paid throughout the year.

In Arizona, taxpayers with dependents also saw tax refunds, but the amount varied depending on how many children or dependents you listed. For children under 17, the amount was $250 per person, with a limit of $750 for three dependents. For dependents over 18, the payment was lowered to $100 each.