How Does the Government Calculate Food Stamp Amounts?
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SNAP
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On October 1, 2008, the name of the federal Food Stamp Program was changed to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the new name was designed to reflect a new focus "on nutrition and an increase in benefit amounts." The program has been the backbone of the United States' social safety net for over 30 years. According to the South Carolina Department of Social Services, its mission is to "end hunger and improve the health of low-income people by helping families buy the food they need" for a nutritious diet. The amount of benefits a household receives is called an allotment. Allotments are calculated based on family size and on the amount of money "your family has left from its monthly income after certain household expenses are subtracted."
Calculating Allotments
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Families receiving SNAP assistance are expected to spend 30 percent of their monthly income on food. For this reason, SNAP allotments are calculated by multiplying your family's monthly income by .3. This number is then "subtracted from the maximum allotment for the household size to find the household's allotment," according to neighborhoodlink.com.
A single person can get a maximum monthly allotment of $200. A married couple can get as much as $365. The maximum allotment for a family of three is $526, and a family of four can receive $668. These amounts continue to increase exponentially up to a family of eight, which receives $1,202. According to the USDA, families larger than eight can get an extra $150 for each additional family member.
For example, a family of four earning $1,163 a month receives a monthly allotment of $319. This is because when its monthly income is multiplied by .3, it equals $349. When this amount is subtracted from the family's maximum monthly allotment of $668, you get a total SNAP allotment of $319.
Qualifying
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To qualify for SNAP, your family's gross monthly income must be below 130 percent of the poverty line, and your net monthly income has to be below 100 percent of the poverty line. Net income is determined by taking your gross income and applying deductions to it. You can get deductions for things such as medical expenses or child support payments.
For example, a family of three must have a gross income of below $1,907 a month and a net income of below $1,467 a month. A family of four must have a gross income of below $2,297 a month and a net income of below $1,767 a month. There are some exceptions to this. According to the USDA, a family that is caring for an elderly relative who is already receiving disability payments "only has to meet the net income test."
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