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Food Stamps

And OtherNutrition Programs



Food StampsAnd OtherNutrition Programs

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ederal, state and local governmentsprovide many programs designed to

help meet the nutritional needs o peo-ple with low incomes and their amilies.

Although Social Security does notmanage any o these programs, we can

reer you to the agencies that do. Wehave a special working relationshipwith social service agencies that run theood stamp program. In some cases, wecan even take a ood stamp application.

Can you get ood stamps?

To get ood stamps, you and the otherpeople in your household must meet

certain conditions. (Your householdincludes everyone who buys andprepares ood together.)

Everyone who is applying in yourhousehold must have or apply or a

Social Security number and be eithera U.S. citizen, U.S. national, anAmerican Indian born in Canada orMexico or have status as a qualifedalien. The ollowing qualifed aliens

are eligible or ood stamps withouta waiting period:

• Legal immigrant children under 18;

• Blind or disabled legal immigrants

who receive disability assistanceor beneits;



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• Persons aged 65 or older who legallyresided in the U.S. on or beore

August 22, 1931;• Lawul Permanent Residents (LPR)

with a military connection (includesHmong or Highland Laotian tribes

that helped the U.S. military dur-ing the Vietnam era, veterans, activeduty, or a spouse or a child o a vet-eran or active duty service member);

• Reugees admitted under section 207

o the Immigration and NationalityAct (INA);

• Asylees under section 208 o the INA;

• Immigrants whose deportation or

removal is withheld under section243(h) or 241(b)(3) o the INA;

• Cuban or Haitian entrants under sec-tion 501(e) o the Reugee EducationAssistance Act o 1980;

• Amerasian immigrants under section584 o the Foreign Operations, ExportFinancing and Related ProgramsAppropriations Act o 1988.

The ollowing qualifed aliens areeligible i they have lived in the U.S.or fve years rom date o entry or ithey have a sufcient work history(40 work credits) to qualiy:

• LPRs;• Parolees (paroled or at least one year

under section 212(d)(5) o INA);



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• Conditional entrants under 203(a)(7)o INA in eect prior to April 1, 1980;

• A battered spouse, battered childor parent or child o a battered per-son with a petition pending under204(a)(1)(A) or (B) or 244(a)(3) o INA.

I you receive Supplemental SecurityIncome (SSI) payments in Caliornia,you are not eligible or ood stampsbecause the state includes extra moneyin the amount it adds to the ederal

SSI payment.

Work

Most able-bodied people between the

ages o 18 and 60 must register or workto qualiy or ood stamps. Many peoplemay be required to participate in anemployment or training program. Somecollege students also may be eligible.

Resource limits

Generally, your household cannothave more than $2,000 in resources

(things you own). But, i your householdincludes a disabled person or a personage 60 or older, the limit is $3,000. Theresources o a person who is gettingSSI or benefts under the Temporary

Assistance or Needy Families (TANF)program are not counted or ood stamp



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purposes either. Resources include cash,bank accounts and other property.

Not all resources count. For example,your home and the land it is on do notcount or ood stamp eligibility. A caror truck counts dierently, depending

on how it is used. Most states nowuse TANF rules in place o ood stampvehicle rules i the TANF rules aremore benefcial to the ood stamphousehold.

Most households also must meet anincome limit. Certain things do notcount and can be subtracted rom yourincome. Your household may qualiy orother income exclusions i it includes

someone who is age 60 or older ordisabled. The income limits vary byhousehold size and may change eachyear.

What amount o ood stamps canyou get?

I your household is eligible, theamount o ood stamps you get dependson your monthly household income andexpenses or such things as:

• Mortgage or rent;

• Utilities; and

• Child care or elder care needed toallow someone to work.



Medical expenses o more than $35a month or elderly and disabled

people are deducted rom yourhousehold income i they are not paidorby another party such as Medicaid,Medicare or an insurance company.

You can also fnd out how muchyou may be able to get onlinethrough the Pre-Screening Tool atwww.foodstamps-step1.usda.gov .

How to apply or ood stamps

Food stamp applications are availableat any Social Security ofce. I you

and everyone in your household areapplying or or already getting SSIpayments, any Social Security ofcewill help you fll out the ood stampapplication and send it to the ood

stamp ofce or you.All others must take or send theirood stamp application to the localood stamp ofce or to any SocialSecurity ofce where a ood stamp

representative works.When you are interviewed, you also

should have:

• Identiication such as a driver’s

license, state ID, birth certiicate oralien card;

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http://www.foodstamps-step1.usda.gov/

http://www.foodstamps-step1.usda.gov/



www.socialsecurity.gov

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• Proo o income or each member oyour household, such as pay stubs or

records that show i Social Security,SSI or a pension is received;

• Proo o how much you spend orchild care;

• Rent receipts or proo o your mort-gage payments;

• Records o your utility costs; and

• Medical bills or those members oyour household age 60 or older, andor those who get government pay-ments, like Social Security or SSIpayments because they are disabled.

You should fnd out i you are eligible

within 30 days. Households eligible orexpedited service get benefts withinseven days. I you do not hear within 30days, call or visit the ood stamp ofce.

Homeless people andood stamps

I you are homeless you can still getood stamps even i you do not have an

address, a place to stay or a placeto cook meals. You are consideredhomeless i you do not have a fxedregular nighttime residence or yourprimary nighttime residence is a

temporary accommodation in:• A supervised shelter;

(over)



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• A halway house;

• The residence o another person; or• A place not designed or regularsleeping, such as a hallway, busstation or lobby.

Other nutritionprograms available

The ood stamp program is just oneo many nutrition programs available.

The ederal government and many stateand local government agencies sponsornumerous programs that provide peoplewith inormation about, and access to,a more nutritious diet. Many o theseprograms also are set up to improve thehealth and eating habits o children.

Here are two examples:

Special Supplemental Nutrition

Program or Women, Inants andChildren (WIC)• The WIC program provides nutri-

tious oods to supplement the dietso low-income pregnant, postpartum

and breast-eeding women, inantsand children up to ive years o age.It also provides nutrition educationand reerrals to health services andother assistance programs.

• WIC is administered by theDepartment o Agriculture throughstate health departments. Eligibilityis based on income and on nutrition-

al risk as determined by a healthproessional.

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Contact your state or local healthdepartment or more inormation aboutthis program.The Nutrition Program or theElderly (NPE)• NPE is a ood program designed to

help older people. It is run by theDepartment o Health and HumanServices through the state agencieson aging. NPE is part o the Grantsor State and Community Programs

on Aging, which also authorizes in-home services or rail elderly people,support services and senior centeroperations. The nutrition servicesprogram provides elderly Americans

with nutritious meals.• I you are age 60 or older, you are

eligible or the program and so isyour spouse, even i he or she is not

60 years old. Age is the only actorused to decide i you are eligible. Youdo not have to meet any income lim-its to get meals through the program.

• Neighborhood centers or the elderly

serve well-balanced, hot or cold mealsat least once a day, ive days a week.When possible, transportation isoered to and rom the sites or thosewho need it. Home-delivered meals,

usually called “Meals on Wheels,”are provided to elderly people whoare homebound.

For more inormation about this

program, contact your local Ofce onAging or ask your local Social Securityofce.



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More ood programs

There are other ood programsadministered by the Departmento Agriculture.

Several ood distribution programsgive commodities to needy householdsor to organizations that provide mealservice to low-income people, includingsoup kitchens, churches and homelessshelters.

The Child and Adult Care FoodProgram oers meals and snacks tochildren in eligible day care centers,amily day care homes and other carecenters, as well as to unctionally

impaired adults and elderly peoplein day care situations.

The School Lunch and BreakastPrograms oer meals at schools tochildren. Low-income children getthese meals ree or at a reduced price,while other children have access toreasonably priced meals.

The Summer Food Service Program

oers ree meals and snacks to needychildren during the months whenschool is not in session.

The Senior Farmers’ Market NutritionProgram provides low-income seniors

(individuals who are at least 60 yearsold) with coupons during the harvestseason that can be exchanged or eligibleoods at armers’ markets, roadsidestands and community supported

agriculture programs.For more inormation about these

programs contact your local social



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services, health, agriculture or agingofce.

Contacting Social Security

For more inormation and to fndcopies o our publications, visit our

website at www.socialsecurity.gov orcall toll-ree, 1-800-772-1213 (or thedea or hard o hearing, call our TTYnumber, 1-800-325-0778). We cananswer specifc questions rom 7 a.m.to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Wecan provide inormation by automatedphone service 24 hours a day.

We treat all calls confdentially.

We also want to make sure you receiveaccurate and courteous service. That iswhy we have a second Social Securityrepresentative monitor some telephonecalls.

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Food stamps

Getting or applying only for Social Security?

You can get a ood stamp appli-

cation and inormation at anySocial Security oice.

We cannot process your foodstamp applications if you are get-ting or applying only for SocialSecurity.

Getting or applying for Supplemental Security Income(SSI)?

You can apply or ood stamps atany Social Security oice i youand everyone in your householdget or apply or SSI.

We will help you fill out the food stamp application. You do

not have to go to the food stampoffice to apply.

Social Security AdministrationSSA Publication No. 05-10100ICN 468650Unit o Issue - HD (one hundred)May 2006 (Destroy prior editions)

social security: 10100

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