How to Apply for Food Stamps

The food stamps program is the common name for the United States Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This program was designed for helping those people or families with very less or no income. Even though, this program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it is the individual states that distribute the benefits. Those who are found to be eligible under this program get monthly benefits as food stamps or electronic cards, that can be used at authorized retail food stores to buy food. Earlier, paper stamps of the denomination of US$1, US$5, and US$10 were used as food stamps, which could be used to buy prepackaged edible foods. However, this system was replaced by specialized debit-card system known as 'electronic benefit transfer' (EBT), during the late 1990s. This program is one of the successful ones, as more than 35 million people in the United States of America are using this card currently. According to recent surveys, one in eight Americans use this card.

Eligibility Criteria

An applicant has to be eligible in the first place, in order to apply for food stamps. The first and foremost requirement is that the applicant must be a citizen of America with a social security number. Even non-citizens are eligible, if they qualify as per the criteria specially provided for such people. Other factors include income, household resources, household expenses and number of family members. Even though, household resources include bank accounts and vehicles, it does not include home, most of the retirement plans, benefits under 'Temporary Assistance for Needy Families' (TANF), etc. The income limit is calculated as per different factors, like, the number of family members, number of elderly people in the family, etc. If you wish to apply for food stamps, then it will be better to use the online SNAP Eligibility Pre-screening tool, for a basic idea about the eligibility criteria.

Apply for Food Stamps

As mentioned above, SNAP is a federal program run by the states and the procedure of filing application for food stamps may vary from one state to another. So, it is better to apply at the local SNAP office or social security office. Even online applications are allowed in some states. If you want to know more about how to apply for food stamps online, then log on to the concerned websites. In other cases, the applicant has to be personally present for applying and have a face-to-face interview with the concerned officials. If the person is unable to go to the office personally (due to old age or disability), for filing applications or for the interview, then he/she can appoint an authorized representative for this purpose. In case, the applicant fails to appear for the interview or to appoint a representative, then the officials can conduct the interview through telephone or they can directly visit your home. While applying for food stamps, you have to produce documents, like, proof for termination of employment in case of unemployed persons, employer's letter with mention of gross and net wages (for employed persons), social security numbers, proof for household resources, income proof, proof of income and education expenses (for college students), medical bills (for those above the age of 60), etc. In case of homeless people, priority processing facility is also available.

If your application is approved, you will be provided with an EBT card, which is like a debit card only. The benefit is decided on the basis of various factors, like number of family members, income, etc. With this card, you can purchase only food items or plants and seeds for growing foods for the household. An EBT card cannot be used for buying nonfood items, pet foods, cosmetics, medicines, hot foods, household supplies, etc.