The well-known “Food Stamp” program formally received a name change in October 2008 and is now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This important program is been available since the end of the Great Depression and is now available in all 50 states including New York (“NY”). NY food stamps provides benefits to tens of thousands of people each month to help them make sure that they can provide food for their families even though the household has a low income. The NY food stamps program is administered by the New York Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Anyone who desires to qualify for food stamps must submit an application to the state before any type of benefits will be received. However, before you submit any kind of application it is important for you to determine whether you qualify for food stamps or not.
To qualify for NY food stamps you must prove that your household income is below certain levels that have been set forth by the United States Department of Agriculture (who oversees the food stamp program in the management of food stamp card issuing throughout the country). Of course, the larger your household the higher the income can be for you to still qualify for benefits.
The determination of whether your income is below the given thresholds to qualify for NY food stamps can be broken down into three sections. First, there are households who will have extra costs due to the need to care for household member. This may include, but is not limited to, extra prescriptions for a physical condition, or the need to hire someone to provide in-home skilled medical care to someone who cannot leave the house. Second, there’ll be those who have someone who’s considered elderly or disabled living in the household. In general, some is considered “elderly” for purposes of the NY food stamps program if they are age 65 or older and will be considered “disabled” if they are currently qualified receive Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) benefits each month. Finally, all other households who do not meet the first two categories will fall into a third “general” category.
Below is a table providing the gross monthly income limits a given household is allowed to have depending on which of the three types the household is:
| Household Size | General Income If Other Categories Do Not Apply | If There Are Elderly or Disabled Household Members | Dependent Care Costs |
| 1 | $1174 | $1805 | $1805 |
| 2 | $1579 | $2428 | $2428 |
| 3 | $1984 | $3052 | $3052 |
| 4 | $2389 | $3675 | $3675 |
| Each Extra Member | +$406 | +$623 | +$623 |
After Qualifying For NYC Food Stamps
After you have qualified for NY food stamps the state will issue you an Electronic Benefit Transfer (“EBT”) card (also sometimes known as a “EBT NY” card). The EBT NY card ask just like a debit card in almost every respect. You can use it at any local store were food sold to by allowed grocery items by swiping the card (which has magnetic strip on the back just like any other typical credit or debit card) and entering in a PIN number.
Additionally, you will have access to electronic data related to the amount of benefits you have used for the given month and how much of benefits you have remaining. The ability to check food stamp balance amounts at any time makes it much easier to plan out your grocery expenditures throughout the month.
Source: http://otda.ny.gov/programs/food-stamps/#eligibility
Related posts:
