FOOD STAMP PROGRAM FOOD STAMP PROGRAM OVERVIEWOVERVIEW

FOOD STAMP PROGRAM

Health and Human Services Agency

Jolie Ramage

What Are Food StampsWhat Are Food Stamps

A Federally funded “Nutrition Assistance Program” – not a Welfare Program.

Helps low-income people buy food. Administered by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture at the Federal level through its Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).

State agencies administer the program at the State and local levels, including determining eligibility and allotments, and distribution of benefits.

HistoryHistory

The “Food Stamp Plan” began in 1939 to help needy families in the Depression era.

The modern program began as a pilot project in 1961 and became a permanent program in 1964.

Major expansion of the program occurred after 1974 when Congress required all States to offer Food Stamps to low-income households.

Participation has since grown to an average of 23.9 million persons.

Who Can QualifyWho Can Qualify

Households must meet eligibility requirements and provide information – and verification – about their household circumstances.

U.S. citizens and some non-citizens who are admitted for permanent residency may qualify.

USDA has a toll free number for information about the Food Stamp Program – (800) 221-5689 San Diego’s Public Assistance Information (PAI) number is (866) 262-9881.

And our County website is www.sdcounty.ca.gov

ParticipationParticipation

Households may have no more than $2,000 in countable resources such as a bank account ($3,000 if at least one person in household is age 60 or older, or is disabled).

Your home is not counted if you live in it. All vehicles are exempt. The gross monthly income of most households must be

130 percent or less of Federal poverty guidelines ($1,744 per month for a family of three in most places, effective October 1, 2005 through September 30, 2006). Gross income includes all cash payments to the household, with a few exceptions specified in the law or the program regulations.

Participation Participation (continued)(continued)

Net monthly income must be 100 percent or less of Federal poverty guidelines ($1,341 per month for a household of three in most places, effective October 1, 2005 through September 30, 2006). Net income is figured by adding all of a household’s gross income, and then taking a number of approved deductions for child care, some shelter costs and other expenses. Households with an elderly or disabled member are subject only to the net income test.

Participation Participation (continued)(continued)

Most able-bodied adult applicants must meet certain work requirements.

All household members must provide a Social Security number or apply for one.

Federal poverty guidelines are established by the Office of Management and Budget, and are updated annually by the Department of Health and Human Services.

How To Apply for Food StampsHow To Apply for Food Stamps

Go to the local food stamp office and fill out an application.

You have the right to submit the application the same day.

You can also call the office and ask them to send you an application, fill it in and send it in by mail.

The local office will give you an appointment for an interview.

Interpreter services are available.

How To Apply How To Apply (continued)(continued)

The Food Stamp Program prorates the first month’s benefits from the day the local office gets your application, so it’s to your advantage to get the application to the office quickly.

Just give the local office your name, address and signature, if you can’t complete the form immediately.

Food and Nutrition Service has a new on-line pre-screening tool that will tell you whether you might be eligible for food stamps, and how much you may be eligible to receive, so you can see if whether it would be worth your while to go to the food stamp office and apply – www.food stamps-step1.usda.gov

Household Food Stamp Household Food Stamp AllotmentAllotment Eligible households are issued a monthly

allotment of food stamps based on the Thrifty Food Plan, a low-cost model diet plan.

The TFP is based on National Academy of Sciences’ Recommended Dietary Allowances, and on food choices of low-income households.

An individual household’s food stamp allotment is equal to the maximum allotment for that household’s size, less 30 percent of the household’s net income.

Household Food Stamp Household Food Stamp Allotments Allotments (continued)(continued)

Households with no countable income received the maximum allotment ($399 per month in Fiscal Year 2006 for a household of three people).

Allotment levels are higher for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, reflecting higher food prices in those areas.

The average monthly benefit was about $86 per person and about $200 per household in FY 2004.

Income Eligibility StandardsIncome Eligibility Standards

The following chart lists the current gross and net income eligibility standards for the continental United States, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, effective October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006. Eligibility levels are slightly higher for Alaska and Hawaii.

Income Eligibility Standards Income Eligibility Standards (continued)(continued)

Household Size Gross Monthly Income

(130 percent of poverty)

Net Monthly Income

(100 percent of poverty)

1 1,037 798

2 1,396 1,070

3 1,744 1,341

4 2,097 1,613

5 2,450 1,885

6 2,803 2,156

7 3,156 2,428

8 3,509 2, 700

Each additional member +354 +272

Income Eligibility Standards Income Eligibility Standards (continued)(continued)

Household Size Maximum allotment level

1 $152

2 278

3 399

4 506

5 601

6 722

7 798

8 912

Each Additional Member +114

The current maximum allotment levels for the continental United States, in effect from October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006 are:

Food Eligible for Purchase with Food Eligible for Purchase with Food StampsFood Stamps

Foods for the household to eat, such as:– breads and cereals;

– fruits and vegetables;

– meats, fish and poultry; and

– dairy products.

Seeds and plants which produce food for the household to eat.

Households CAN use food stamp benefits to buy:

Foods Eligible for Purchase with Foods Eligible for Purchase with Food Stamps Food Stamps (continued)(continued)

Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco. Any nonfood items, such as:

– pet foods;– soaps, paper products; and– household supplies.

Vitamins and medicines. Food that will be eaten in the store. Hot foods.

Households CANNOT use food stamp benefits to buy:

Foods Eligible for Purchase with Foods Eligible for Purchase with Food StampsFood Stamps (continued) (continued)

In some areas, restaurants can be authorized to accept food stamp benefits from qualified homeless, elderly, or disabled people in exchange for low-cost meals. Food stamp benefits cannot be exchanged for cash.

Fraud PreventionFraud Prevention

Retailers who violate program rules can face heavy fines, removal from the program, or jail.

Individual food stamp recipients who sell their benefits can also be removed from the program.

Use of electronic benefit transfer—EBT—to issue food stamp benefits.

EBT uses a plastic card similar to a bank debit card to transfer funds from a food stamp benefits account to a retailer’s account.

Fraud Prevention Fraud Prevention (continued)(continued)

With an EBT card, food stamp customers pay for groceries without any paper coupons changing hands.

EBT eliminates paper food stamps and creates an electronic record for each transactions that makes fraud easier to detect.

Fraud Prevention Fraud Prevention (continued)(continued)

All states have now adopted EBT for food stamp issuance, and in some cases for other programs such as USDA’s Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, the Federal block-grant program operated by the Department of Health and Human Services to provide cash assistance to needy families.

Monthly AllotmentMonthly Allotment

Benefits do not have to used up in the month they are issued.

Any benefits remaining in your Food Stamp EBT account at the end of the month WILL be carried over into the next month.

If you have not used your EBT card at all for one year, the State will begin the process of permanently removing your food stamp benefits from your EBT account.

Program IntegrityProgram Integrity

USDA works closely with the States to ensure that they issue their benefits correctly.

State workers carefully evaluate each application to determine eligibility and the appropriate level of benefits.

USDA monitors the accuracy of eligibility and benefit determinations.

Program Integrity Program Integrity (continued)(continued)

States that fail to meet standards for issuing their food stamp benefits correctly can be sanctioned by USDA, and those that exceed the standard for payment accuracy can be eligible for additional funding support.

People who receive food stamp benefits in error must repay any benefits for which they did not qualify.

Characteristics of Food Stamp Characteristics of Food Stamp HouseholdsHouseholds

51 percent of all participants are children (18 or younger), and 65 percent of them live in single-parent households.

5 percent of food stamp households include children.

9 percent of all participants are elderly (age 60 or over).

Base on a study of data gathered in Fiscal Year 2003:

Characteristics of Food Stamp Characteristics of Food Stamp Households Households (continued)(continued)

79 percent of all benefits go to households with children, 16 percent go to households with disabled persons, 7 percent go to households with elderly persons.

36 percent of households with children were headed by a single parent, the overwhelming majority of whom were women.

Characteristics of Food Stamp Characteristics of Food Stamp Households Households (continued)(continued)

The average household size is 2.3 persons.

The average gross monthly income per food stamp household is $640.

41 percent of participants are white; 36 percent are African-American, non-Hispanic; 18 percent are Hispanic; 3 percent are Asian, 2 percent are Native American, and 1 percent are unknown race or ethnicity.

How many people get food How many people get food stamps, and at what cost?stamps, and at what cost?

In 2000, it served 17.2 million people a month and cost $17.1 billion.

In 1995, it served 26.6 million people a month, and cost $24.6 billion.

In 1990, it served 20.1 million people and cost $15.5 billion.

The Food Stamp Program served an average of 23.9 million people each month during Fiscal Year 2004, and cost $27.2 billion for the year.

By comparison:

How many people get food How many people get food stamps, and at what cost? stamps, and at what cost? (continued)(continued)

In 1985, it served 19.9 million people and cost $11.7 billion.

In 1980, it served 21.1 million people and cost $9.2 billion.

In 1975, it served 17.1 million people and cost $4.6 billion.

In 1970, it served 4.3 million people and cost $577 million.

The program’s all-time high participation was 27.97 million people in March of 1994.

Other Versions of the Food Other Versions of the Food Stamp ProgramStamp Program In Puerto Rico, the Food Stamp Program

was replaced in 1982 by a block grant program, called the Nutrition Assistance Program.

The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands and American Samoa in the Pacific also operate under block grants.

The territories now provide cash or coupons to participants, rather than food stamps or food distribution.

Other Versions of the Food Other Versions of the Food Stamp Program Stamp Program (continued)(continued)

The grant can also be used for administrative expenses related to food production and distribution.

The cost for the block grant program in Puerto Rico, in FY 2004 was $1.413 billion.

For the Northern Marianas and American Samoa the block grant programs in FY 2004 cost $16.5 million.