For more
than 40 years, SNAP has served as the foundation of
America’s national nutrition safety net. It is the first
line of defense against hunger and offers a powerful tool
for improving nutrition among low-income people.
It is available to nearly anyone with low
income. Eligibility is based on financial factors such as income and
expenses available to the household, as well as immigrant status.
Only
legal immigrants are eligible for program benefits, most of
whom must wait 5 years in legal status before qualifying for
benefits.
The
Program requires able-bodied adults between 16 and 60 (with
some exceptions) to register for work, to take part in
employment/training programs referred by the SNAP office,
and to accept or continue suitable employment.
Benefits
come to the household via electronic debit cards, known as
Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards which can be used in
more than 216,000 approved retail stores nationwide to
purchase food.
Background
The
modern program was established by the federal government in
1964, significantly altered in 1977, and is the largest
federal nutrition program for low-income households.
It is
administered by the Food and Nutrition Service at the
Federal level and is operated by State and local welfare
offices in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam,
and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Participants
In 2011,
SNAP, the Nation’s largest nutrition assistance program,
served an average of 44.7 million low-income people each
month. In 2010, about 17 percent of participants reported
that they were Hispanic. (Another 20 percent did not report
race or ethnicity.) Ten percent of all SNAP households had a
Hispanic head of household and 12 percent of SNAP households
with children were headed by Hispanics.
Budget
$68.3
billion in Federal spending in FY 2010 (benefits and
administration).
Contact Information
For complete information, visit
www.fns.usda.gov/snap or
call or visit your local office. Look in the blue pages
of your phone book under “Social Services” or “Human Services” to
find the number. If you need help finding your local
office, call 1-800-221-5689.
