.
Benefits Access
The Benefits Access program helps pantries and kitchens enable their clients to obtain benefits through programs that support employment, boost the City’s economy, and improve food and economic security. These include Food Stamps (now also known as SNAP – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits; School Meals; Summer Meals; and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
Primary among these is the federal Food Stamps Program, which currently assists 1 in 8 Americans buy food for themselves and their families.
What should I know about food stamps?.jpg)
- You can get food stamps even if you are working but earning low wages.
- Average food stamp benefits are over $130 per person per month, and almost $300 or more for families (varies with income). That means that the average family receives more than $3,600 worth of food per year!
- Food Stamps do not adversely affect immigration status.
- Food Stamps can be used at many farmers’ markets.
What are the income qualifications for food stamps?
Households have to meet income tests to receive food stamps. For most households, if you meet the income qualifications, it no longer matters how much money you may or may not have in countable resources. In other words, you can now save money for education, a home purchase, retirement, or other purposes and still receive food stamps.
Which type of legal immigrants are eligible for food stamps?
Legal immigrants can often receive food stamps if they:
- Have lived in the country for 5 years; or
- Are receiving disability-related assistance or benefits, regardless of entry date; or
- Are children regardless of entry date.
Certain non-citizens such as those admitted for humanitarian reasons may also be able to receive benefits. And eligible household members can get food stamps even if there are other members of the household that do not qualify. Often, non-eligible immigrant parents can receive food stamps for their eligible children.
NYCCAH is currently a citywide partner in THREE food stamps access projects that have helped tens of thousands of people successfully enroll in the Food Stamps Program:
1) The Food Stamps Paperless Office System (POS) Project – a partnership between NYCCAH, the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) and six emergency food programs – allows low-income New Yorkers to apply, with assistance, for food stamps online at food pantries and soup kitchens in each of the five boroughs. Approximately 85% of clients applying at NYCCAH host sites receive benefits. Most applicants now qualify for a waiver which allows them to forego a follow-up, in-person interview at the food stamps office, a significant barrier for low-income working people unable to take time off to complete the application process. Call NYCCAH for a food stamps-pre-screening at one of the numbers listed above to see if you may be able to submit an application at one of our community-based POS sites.
2) Are you currently enrolled in SNAP/food stamps? Have you recently received a recertification notice in the mail and have a phone interview scheduled? If so, NYCCAH’s new Recertification Improvement Project (SNAP-RIP) can help! With appointments now available at a host of community-based organizations, our staff will help you cut down on paperwork, submit the proper documents, and expedite the required interview process, ensuring that your household continues to receive vital nutrition benefits.
This partnership, between NYCCAH, the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA), and the Food Bank of New York City, addresses the urgent need to help clients currently participating in SNAP/food stamps remain enrolled for the benefits they are eligible for during these uncertain economic times.
At an appointment with our staff, clients can populate the recertification application with current information with a swipe of their EBT Card, thereby reducing administrative errors. Furthermore, clients may elect to have our staff serve as their authorized representative for the required follow-up phone interview with HRA, eliminating another step for clients and expediting the recertification process.
Call Jim Wengler at 212.825.0028 x218 for more information on SNAP-RIP.
3) The United Way of New York City Food Card Access Project (FCAP). NYCCAH has been a partner in FCAP since its inception in 2003. Our role is to identify appropriate sites throughout the project catchment area where community-based groups can perform food stamps pre-screenings, inform individuals of their potential eligibility for food stamps and provide them with options for submitting an application. NYCCAH has helped to coordinate food stamps pre-screening activities at over 600 locations, including hospitals, health clinics, schools, public libraries, supermarkets, senior centers and banks, as well as at soup kitchens and food pantries.
Call Terence Kelly at 212.825.0028 x211 for more on FCAP.
NYCCAH’s policy and outreach work has played a key role in increasing Food Stamps Program participation in the City by 568,546 people between January 2002 and January 2009. As a result, low-income New Yorkers will receive at least $1.3 billion more in federal nutrition assistance support this year than in 2002.
NYCCAH has also created "A Guide to Free Food and Assistance" aka "street sheets" - neighborhood-specific guides to local food resources, including detailed lists of local emergency food sites and food stamps and WIC offices. These Guides have proven effective in increasing the participation of income-eligible New Yorkers in public benefit programs – with emphasis on the Food Stamps Program.
Click here to view and print out these guides.
