What Is the Food Stamp Program?
The Food Stamp Program, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is a federal program that helps low-income people living in the United States to purchase food. It is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) but administered by individual state agencies. According to the USDA, more than 31 million people received assistance from the program in 2009. Does this Spark an idea?
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History
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The first federal Food Stamp Program was designed to assist low-income families to purchase food as well as to deplete food surpluses that existed at the time. It ran from 1939 through 1943. A new pilot Food Stamp Program started in 1961 and was formally adopted as a permanent federal assistance program in 1964.
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Name
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Historically, people receiving assistance from this program received paper stamps, similar to coupons, with which to purchase food so the program became known as the "Food Stamp Program." In the late 1990s, paper stamps were phased out and replaced with debit cards that were funded via electronic money transfers. In 2008, Congress formally changed the program's name to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Qualifying
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Certain criteria must be met regarding income, assets and work ability before an individual may qualify for assistance through the program. Applicants and members of their households must have valid Social Security numbers and be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals or be a qualified legal alien.
Benefits
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The amount an applicant receives depends on household income and size. The average monthly per-person benefit was approximately $101 per person and $227 per household in 2008.
Exclusions
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SNAP benefits may only be used to purchase food items but must be redeemed at any store that participates in the program. Any non-food item, such as soap or paper towels, pet food, vitamins, medicine, tobacco or alcoholic beverages, may not be purchased using program benefits. Also excluded are hot foods or foods that are intended to be eaten in the store.
References
- Photo Credit "The Hand" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Alex E. Proimos (Alex Proimos) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
