How SNAP food stamp benefits reduce hunger and food insecurity.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 38 million people in the country (including millions of children) are food insecure. This means they may not know where their next meal is coming from. If you are asking what food stamps are, just know that the SNAP program was created to try to help them - low income households who struggle to pay for the groceries they need to feed their family. Food stamps assist people who either lack funds to buy the food they need or skip meals due to financial constraints.
How it works is by the following. The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides funds to low-income households that can be used to purchase food at grocery stores, farmers markets, supermarkets and other outlets. SNAP is the modern version of "food stamps," a program started in 1939 that provided people with colored paper vouchers that could be exchanged at stores for grocery items.
Today, SNAP provides benefits to people residing in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than 40 million people received benefits each year worth over $100 billion.
How it is funded is by the federal government. Food stamps is administered by the USDA. The federal government agency licenses and monitors the stores and outlets that participate in the program and also sets general guidelines for the states. Although SNAP is a federal funded program, applications for assistance are made to a state government office.
Every state operates a SNAP program. Some states include the term "SNAP" in their program's name while other states may have different program names such as "Basic Food" in Washington, "CalFresh" in California or the "Food Assistance Program" in Kansas and Florida.
What are the food stamp benefit amounts?
The amount of assistance provided depends on the number of people in the qualifying household and their combined income as well as financial resources. How it works is by helping to pay for groceries. The maximum monthly payment to a single-person household is $250 while a 4-person household can receive up to $835. More people in the house equals higher benefit amounts.
The traditional concept of food stamps in which paper vouchers were given to recipients is a thing of the past. Since 2004, food assistance has been provided via an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. If you do not know what an EBT card is, it is similar to a debit card, and that card how a family pays for their groceries.
Funds are automatically placed in the card account once a month. Cardholders are also given a Personal Identification Number (PIN). The card and PIN are used to checkout at stores just as a debit card is used. The total amount for eligible SNAP items will be subtracted from the account, and the receipt will show the balance of SNAP benefits remaining.
Once SNAP items are paid for, ineligible items must be purchased by some other method. SNAP does not pay the amount a store charges to provide bags or for the delivery of food to the recipient's home. What SNAP food stamps will pay for includes only grocery items, with few exceptions. However find some surprising items that food stamps pay for.
Selling SNAP benefits for cash or other goods is illegal. This is one way how the government cuts down on fraud and abuse. Changing from paper vouchers to EBT, reduced fraud incidents from 4% to about 1%. EBT allows every transaction to be electronically recorded making alleged violations easier to investigate.
How does food stamp eligibility and benefit calculations work?
Eligibility for the program and the amount of benefits provided is based on household resources (meaning assets) and income. Everyone who lives together and purchases and prepares meals together is grouped as a household.
What SNAP does is also encourage that “vulnerable” people get the food they need, so eligibility rules regarding seniors and disabled persons are slightly different. For example, if a person is 60 years old but unable to purchase and prepare meals due to a disability, that person and his or her spouse might be treated as a separate SNAP household even though they live with others.
To be eligible, households can't have more than $2,500 in countable resources such as bank accounts. That limit jumps to $3,750 if a household member is at least 60 years old or disabled.
Countable assets do not include the value of a home and lot, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits and most retirement and pension plans. Vehicles count as a resource/asset unless they have low value or are used for specific purposes such as business deliveries.
Most households must also meet both gross and net income limits to be eligible for SNAP. For a 4-person household, gross income cannot exceed over $2900 (adjusted yearly) while net monthly income cannot exceed $2300 (adjusted yearly). Households in which all members are receiving public assistance do not have to meet income eligibility tests.
After gross income is determined, a variety of deductions are allowed to calculate net income. Deductions from gross income may include child support payments, a standard amount of $184 for a 4-person family, medical expenses exceeding $35 for elderly and disabled persons, dependent care costs and some shelter costs including amounts paid for electricity, water, rent and fuel required for heat or cooking.
How the government determines some of this is they factor in the households income. The benefit calculation assumes that households will spend 30% of their own resources/income/assets to meet food needs. Once the net income is determined, that figure is multiplied by 0.3, and the resulting amount is subtracted from the monthly maximum benefit available for the household size.
Students aged 18-49 who are enrolled in college, university or trade school more than half-time generally can't obtain benefits unless they meet certain exemptions such as being eligible for federally funded work-study or other criteria. Students enrolled less than half-time may be eligible if other program requirements are met.
Undocumented non-citizens are not eligible for benefits, but lawfully present non-citizens may qualify if they have lived in the U.S. for at least five years or are receiving disability-related assistance or are under the age of 18. Other SNAP program requirements must also be met. Learn more on how to be eligible for SNAP food stamps.
What are food stamp work requirements?
Most SNAP recipients must fulfill work requirements that include registering for work, participating in a training program, taking a job if offered and not voluntarily quitting a job. Many state government sets these rules.
Additionally, able-bodied adults without dependents are required to work or participate in a work program at least 20 hours per week to receive SNAP benefits for more than three months within a 36-month period.
Work requirements do not apply to children, seniors, pregnant women and people that may be exempt for physical or mental health reasons.
How to apply for SNAP EBT card
Application forms can be submitted to the appropriate state office in writing, or, in some cases, application information can be provided over the phone. What if you can’t get to an office you ask? Some states offer an online application process. Find details on and locate a food stamp office.
Once an application is received, the state SNAP agency will schedule an in-person or telephone eligibility interview with the applicant. Most interviews are conducted by phone. Applicants need to provide written verification of income and resources.
Approved persons will begin receiving benefits within 30 days of applying. For very low-income households with minimal resources, emergency benefits may start as quickly as seven days after an application is submitted. This is the emergency food stamps.
Benefits will be approved for a "certification period" that may range from three months up to a maximum of 12 months before recertification is required. Before benefits end, recipients will be contacted and told how to recertify to receive continued benefits.
The federal government's efforts to reduce hunger and food insecurity have substantially evolved over the 80 years since orange and blue paper food stamps were first distributed. If you are asking what is the point of food stamps, know that today, SNAP is a vital resource that is helping millions of people (including children) to provide healthy and nutritious food for their families.
Related Content From Needhelppayingbills.com
|
