Food Stamps/SNAP

What is it?
The Food Stamps Program/SNAP provides you with benefits so that you can buy food at grocery stores and certain other places.

Who Can Qualify?

• Households
• Anyone living together and purchasing and preparing food together can be a household in order to get Food Stamps benefits.
• You don’t have to be related, and there is no limit to the number of people in a household.
• Some people must be in one household together and cannot ask for separate

Food Stamps Benefits:

• Your immediate family: you, your husband or wife, your children who are under 21 years of age
• You and your parents, if you are under 21 years of age
• Those who are acting as parents for a child under 18 years of age, unless the child is in foster care
• The household meets the income limit, depends on the number of people in the household
• The household does not have more than $2000 worth of resources, or $3000 if a member of the household is disabled or over age 60
• You cannot get food stamps if you get SSI
• There are special rules for students and people convicted of a drug related felony

What do you get?

• You get food stamps on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, which you can use at grocery stores to buy food.
• Emergency Food stamps: you may be eligible to get food stamps the same day or at least within 3 days if there is an emergency

How to apply
Go to your local DPSS office or call (877) 597-4777 to have an application mailed to you.

Your rights when you apply

• You have the right to apply in your own language
• You have a right to turn in the application, the workers cannot tell you to leave without turning in an application
• The County has 30 days to either give you your food stamps or notify you that you’ve been denied