[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/Article\/ID\/198\/eligibility-and-applying-for-food-stamps#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/Article\/ID\/198\/eligibility-and-applying-for-food-stamps","headline":"Eligibility and Applying for Food Stamps","name":"Eligibility and Applying for Food Stamps","description":"Finding out if you\u2019re eligible for food stamps and then applying to them can be a headache, but not if you know the right way to go about it.","datePublished":"2018-07-06","dateModified":"2018-07-26","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/author\/admin#Person","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/author\/admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26111862ca029071a00a76fae48c51b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26111862ca029071a00a76fae48c51b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"FoodStamps.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","width":100,"height":100},"url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/Article\/ID\/198\/eligibility-and-applying-for-food-stamps","about":["SNAP Facts","SNAP Survival Guide"],"wordCount":649,"keywords":["198"],"articleBody":"Finding out if you\u2019re eligible for food stamps and then applying to them can be a headache, but not if you know the right way to go about it.EligibilityThere are five different ways to determine if someone\u2019s\u00a0eligible\u00a0for food stamps: Resources:\u00a0Resources are things like having no more than $2,000 in bank accounts or countables. Some states (39 so far) don\u2019t count vehicles as resources, while 11 states discount one vehicle per household and the remaining three exempt a vehicle\u2019s amount higher than the SNAP standard of $4,650. Some things that don\u2019t count as resources include home and lot, most pension plans, and the resources of people who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits.Income:\u00a0Most households have to meet both gross and net income tests, but some only have to meet the latter, like those with an elderly person or someone who\u2019s receiving TANF.Deductions:\u00a0There are seven different types of deductions with the full list available on the\u00a0SNAP site. All the appropriate deductions that pertain to a person or household have to be applied before net income can be calculated and benefits can be applied.Employment Requirements:\u00a0Adults of working age (18 to 50) without dependent children can usually get SNAP benefits for three months over a three-year program if they don\u2019t participate in anything other than a job search. But the restrictions are tighter for able-bodied adults aged 16 to 60, as they\u2019re expected to work in order to maintain SNAP benefits.Special Rules for Elderly or Disabled:\u00a0There\u2019s only one way if a person can qualify as elderly, and that\u2019s if they\u2019re 60 years of age; there are six different ways a person can be considered disabled under the SNAP program, though.Immigrant Eligibility:\u00a0As of the 2002 Farm Bill, most legal immigrants can receive SNAP benefits if they\u2019ve been in the country five years or have children under 18 or currently receive benefits or assistance related to a disability. ApplyingThe first thing to do is to locate your local SNAP office and schedule a visit. You can do an online test first to see if you qualify for food stamps, as some states allow people to apply online. Either way, make sure you have the following information on hand with you: Household financial information like rent, utilities, resources, income, and all other sources of incoming moneyAll government benefits or assistance that you have ever received, even if you\u2019re currently getting them, like Medicare, Medicaid or Social SecurityMedical information about each member in the household, including yourself Once you have that information in one place and have either applied online or in person, it\u2019s just a waiting game until the benefits come in. Some people tend to get processed sooner, like if they have a small amount in their bank accounts, but the process still isn\u2019t over.Once the application is done, you\u2019ll need to schedule an interview to pick up your EBT card. At this interview, you\u2019ll need to show verification and you\u2019ll need to bring the following documents prove: expenses (child care, child support, medical), identity, address, name\/age\/relationship\/Social Security Number of all household members, and all earned\/unearned monthly before taxes and deductions.The process of seeking eligibility and applying for food stamps can be a road-bending one, but it\u2019s really just composed of a series of important steps that need to be followed in order."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Article","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/\/Article\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"ID","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/\/Article\/\/ID\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"198","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/\/Article\/\/ID\/\/198\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Eligibility and Applying for Food Stamps","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/Article\/ID\/198\/eligibility-and-applying-for-food-stamps#breadcrumbitem"}]}]