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The Food St.amp Program helps
people with little or no income
buy nutritious food. Food stamp
benefits are not cash. They
come on a plastic card that you
use like a bank card to buy food.
Most grocery stores take food
stamp benefits.
To get food stamp benefits, your income and your
other resources have to be under certain limits.
• lnc<'me: Your total income, before taxes or any
other subtractions, is called gross income. However,
the program allows certain subtractions,
called deductions. These can be things like
housing costs, child support, medical expenses
(for elderly or disabled people), or child-care
costs. The amount left over after these deductions
is called net income.
Most households must meet both gross and net
income limits. H your household has a person
who is 60 or older or who is disabled, you only
need to meet the net income limit. If everyone
in your household receives SSI or TANF, you do
not need to meet any of the income limits.
Look at the table below to find out what the
gross and net income limits are for food stamp
benefits. The numbers in this table are good
from October 1, 2004 to September 30,2005.
Gross Net
People in ~ Monthly Monthly
Household Income* lnoome*
1 $ 1,009 $ 776
2 1,354 1,041
3 1,698 1,306
4 2,043 1,571
5 2,387 1,836
6 2,732 2,101
7 3,076 2,366
'Amounts are higbet in Alaska and Hawaii.
• Resources: Your resources are things like
bank accounts. To qualify for food stamp benefits,
your household may have up to $2,000 in
resources. If your household has a person who
is aged 60 or older or who is disabled, you may
have up to $3,000 in resources.
Resources that don't count are your home. '1
vehicle used to carry a physically disabled member
of your household, the fair market value of
one vehicle (up to $4,650), and the resources of
people who receive TANF or SSI.
One way to see if you might be able to get food
stamps is to go to www.foodstamps-stepl.usda.
gov on the internet. Answer the questions. If it
looks like you might be eligible, you can also find
out how much you could receive. But to find out
for sure, you must apply.
If you think might be eligible for food stamp
benefits and want to """"'""
• Call or go to the local food stamp office for
an application. You can ask them to mail you
the application.
• Fill out the application as much as you can.
Put your name and street address on the
form and sign it.
• Return the application to the local office.
• Have an interview. You can do your interview
over the phone. Or you can have a friend or
relative go to the interview in your place.
• Show the local office papers like pay stubs,
rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, child or
elder care bills, and child support court orders
and cancelled checks. Ask the local office what
papers and other inform~ tion you will need.
After reviewing your application, the local office
worker will tell you if you qualify and how much
you will receive.
If you need help finding your local food stamp
office, call l-800-221-5689. This Web page can also
help you fmd your local office: http:/ /www.fns.
usda.gov /fsp/ outreach/ coalition/map.htm
Yes, you must get a social security number if you
want food stamp benefits. Not all people in the
household have to join the program. People in the
household who do not want food stamp benefits
do not have to give their social security number.
But they do have to give their fmancial information.
u
Yes, but if you are able to work, you must look for
work, take a job, or go to training.
Maybe. Ask your food stamp worker. Even if you
can't get benefits, household members born in this
country can. Getting food stamp benefits won't
hurt you if you want to become a citizen.
Look at the table below to see the most you can
get if you have no income. As your income goes
up, your food stamp benefits go down. The numbers
in this table are good from October 1, 2004 to
September 30, 2005.
Call your local food ~.tamp office.
Or call 1-800-221-5689.
Or visit www.fns.tJsda.gov/fsp
Food stamp benefits help stretch your dollars at
the grocery store so you and your family can eat
a variety of healthy foods, such as grains (especially
whole grains), fruiti, and vegc tables every day.
Good foods can he p you and your family
stay healthy.
Food Stamps Make
America Stronger.
USDA
~
United States Department of Agricultwe
Food and Nutrition Service
FNS-313
Revised September 2004
Federal law and U.S. Dep.-:~rtment of Agriculture policy
prohibit discriminating on the basts of race, color, national
01 I gin, sex, age, religion, political beliefs, or disability.
Tt> file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office
of Civil Rlgbts, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence
Avenue, S. W., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964
(voice and TDD). USDA ts an equal opportunity provldl!r and
employer:
