As of Oct. 1, 2008, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the new name for the federal Food Stamp Program. The new name reflects the changes we’ve made to meet the needs of our clients, including a focus on nutrition and an increase in benefit amounts. SNAP is the federal name for the program, but state programs may use a different names.

To find out if you're eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamp) benefits, visit our pre-screening tool.

To get SNAP benefits, households must meet certain tests, including resource and income tests:

Resources
Households may have $2,000 in countable resources, such as a bank account, or $3,000 in countable resources if at least one person is age 60 or older, or is disabled. However, certain resources are NOT counted, such as a home and lot, the resources of people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, formerly AFDC), and most retirement (pension) plans.

Income
Households have to meet income tests unless all members are receiving TANF, SSI, or in some places general assistance. Most households must meet both the gross and net income tests, but a household with an elderly person or a person who is receiving certain types of disability payments only has to meet the net income test. Households, except those noted, that have income over the amounts listed here. [PDF, 42KB]

(Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2009)

Benefits
The amount of benefits the household gets is called an allotment. The net monthly income of the household is multiplied by .3, and the result is subtracted from the maximum allotment for the household size to find the household's allotment. This is because SNAP households are expected to spend about 30 percent of their resources on food.

Employment Requirements
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) eliminated the time limit for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) during the period from April 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010, unless a State chooses to offer a qualifying work activity. 
Generally ABAWDS between 18 and 50 who do not have any dependent children can get SNAP benefits only for 3 months in a 36-month period if they do not work or participate in a workfare or an employment and training program other than job search. This requirement is waived in some locations. 

With some exceptions, able-bodied adults between 16 and 60 must register for work, accept suitable employment, and take part in an employment and training program to which they are referred by the local office. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in disqualification from the program.

Special Rules for Elderly or Disabled
Most SNAP rules apply to all households, but there are a few special rules for households that contain an elderly or disabled member.

Who is Elderly?

A person is elderly if he or she is 60 years of age or older.

Who is Disabled?

Generally, a person is considered to be disabled for SNAP purposes if he or she:

• Receives Federal disability or blindness payments under the Social Security Act, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security disability or blindness payments; or
• Receives State disability or blindness payments based on SSI rules; or
• Receives a disability retirement benefit from a governmental agency because of a disability considered permanent under the Social Security Act; or
• Receives an annuity under the Railroad Retirement Act and is eligible for Medicare or is considered to be disabled based on the SSI rules; or
• Is a veteran who is totally disabled, permanently housebound, or in need of regular aid and attendance; or
• Is a surviving spouse or child of a veteran who is receiving VA benefits and is considered to be permanently disabled.

Immigrant Eligibility

The 2002 Farm Bill restores SNAP eligibility to most legal immigrants that:

• Have lived in the country for 5 years; or
• Are receiving disability-related assistance or benefits, regardless of entry date; or
• Starting 10-1-03, are children regardless of entry date

Certain non-citizens such as those admitted for humanitarian reasons and those admitted for permanent residence are also eligible for the program. Eligible household members can get SNAP benefits even if there are other members of the household that are not eligible.

(See Policy on Immigrants for information on qualified alien categories and eligibility)

Non-citizens that are in the U.S. temporarily, such as students, are not eligible.

A number of States have their own programs to provide benefits to immigrants who do not meet the regular SNAP eligibility requirements. For a table of those programs, see State-Funded Food Programs for Legal Immigrants.