Currently named Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and more commonly known as food stamps, this government supervised and funded program, supervised by the US Department of Agriculture, can help a family during hard economic times or temporary financial difficulty to supplement their monthly food budget. In hard economic times, the government says there is nothing wrong with looking for a temporary hand up to keep a family’s budget from imploding.
Food Stamp Benefits
Food stamp benefits, currently called SNAP, is exactly what its name implies: a supplemental nutrition assistance program. SNAP, or the food stamp program, is a government program funded through federal grants. These grants are managed by each state through local state agencies. In some states, it will be the Department of Human Services or the Department of Health and in other states, it might be the Department of Human Welfare. The local telephone book will list this under government programs in the blue pages or in the white pages under the name of the government agency.
How Food Stamp Benefits are Disbursed
Most states use a benefits card that works similarly to a debit card. The card receives a stored balance and when food is purchased using the card, the value of the food purchased is deducted from the balance on the card. This way, no cash changes hands, but families can received nutritional food to supplement their meals.
What SNAP Buys
Food stamp benefits through the SNAP benefits can be used to purchase unprepared food from grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers that sell food and have applied to be SNAP retailers. This food includes fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy products, bread, juices, meats, canned goods, cereal and more. Even some taxable luxury items, like soda and candy, are available in most states with the SNAP benefits.
What SNAP Doesn’t Buy
Food stamps typically can’t buy hot or prepared foods, like fast food, and usually can’t purchase the cooked food from a store’s deli, like the rotisserie chicken, ribs, or other hot or cooked foods. However, SNAP can usually purchase deli meats and cheese and other cold side dishes from the deli. During natural disasters, sometimes exceptions to this will be made, but SNAP benefit recipients should check with their local office to ask about the specifics.
How SNAP Helps Families
It’s important recipients understand food stamps are not intended to completely feed a family for a month. Benefits are only help a family to stretch the food budget. Families receiving SNAP benefits should find alternate ways to purchase enough food for the family. Other government programs, such a WIC and the local food bank or charitable organizations that give out food boxes can all help supplement food for a family receiving benefits or those waiting for benefits to be determined but need to feed a family.
Food Stamp Frequency
Food stamps are disbursed to the debit card once per month. Families are usually certified for benefits for one, three or six months, depending on the circumstances, and some families or family members might be required to attend classes or job training while benefits are active. Family members who are unemployed but eligible for employment and who are able-bodied and not in school might be required to look for work or to receive job search assistance as a condition for receiving benefits. Families must be low-income to receive benefits
Food stamps, now called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, can be a huge help to families who need help making ends meet by freeing up part of the family food budget to use for other things. When less money has to be spent on food, the family can spend more money paying bills and make their income go further. When used properly, SNAP can provide better nutrition for a family, allowing families to buy food items they could not otherwise afford without assistance.
For more information about SNAP, visit the US Department of Agriculture's SNAP benefits website. For more information about how to apply for food stamps, visit this article.
Michelle L Devon - ~~Michelle Devon has 15 years of writing and over a decade of editorial experience, working with hundreds of publications and ...
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