Federal, state and local governments provide many programs designed to help meet the nutritional needs of people with low incomes and their families. The
following has been adapted from SSA.gov.
Can you get food stamps?
To get food stamps, you and the other people in your household must meet certain conditions. (Your household includes everyone who buys and prepares food together.)
Everyone who is applying in your household must have or apply for a Social Security number and be either a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, an American Indian born in Canada or Mexico or
have status as a qualified alien. The following qualified aliens are eligible for food stamps without a waiting period:
- Legal immigrant children under 18;
- Blind or disabled legal immigrants who receive disability assistance or benefits;
- Persons aged 65 or older who legally resided in the U.S. on or before August 22, 1931;
- Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) with a military connection (includes Hmong or Highland Laotian tribes that helped the U.S. military during the Vietnam era, veterans, active duty, or a spouse or a child
of a veteran or active duty service member);
- Refugees admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA);
- Asylees under section 208 of the INA;
- Immigrants whose deportation or removal is withheld under section 243(h) or 241(b)(3) of the INA;
- Cuban or Haitian entrants under section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980;
- Amerasian immigrants under section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 1988.
The following qualified aliens are eligible if they have lived in the U.S. for five years from date of entry or if they have a sufficient work history (40 work credits) to qualify:
- LPRs;
- Parolees (paroled for at least one year under section 212(d)(5) of INA);
- Conditional entrants under 203(a)(7) of INA in effect prior to April 1, 1980;
- A battered spouse, battered child or parent or child of a battered person with a petition pending under 204(a)(1)(A) or (B) or 244(a)(3) of INA.
If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments in California, you are not eligible for food stamps because the state includes extra money in the amount it adds to the federal
SSI payment.
Work
Most able-bodied people between the ages of 18 and 60 must register for work to qualify for food stamps. Many people may be required to participate in an employment or training program.
Some college students also may be eligible.
What amount of food stamps can you get?
If your household is eligible, the amount of food stamps you get depends on your monthly household income and expenses for such things as:
- Mortgage or rent;
- Utilities; and
- Child care or elder care needed to allow someone to work.
Medical expenses of more than $35 a month for elderly and disabled people are deducted from your household income if they are not paid for by another party such as Medicaid, Medicare
or an insurance company.
How to apply for food stamps
The food stamp program is just one of many nutrition programs available. The federal government and many state and local government agencies sponsor numerous programs that provide people
with information about, and access to, a more nutritious diet. Many of these programs also are intended to improve the health and eating habits of children. Here are two examples:
All others must take or send their food stamp application to the local food stamp office or to any Social Security office where a food stamp representative works.
When you are interviewed, you also should have:
- Identification such as a driver’s license, state ID, birth certificate or alien card;
- Proof of income for each member of your household, such as pay stubs or records that show if Social Security, SSI or a pension is received;
- Proof of how much you spend for child care;
- Rent receipts or proof of your mortgage payments;
- Records of your utility costs; and
- Medical bills for those members of your household age 60 or older, and for those who get government payments, like Social Security or SSI payments because they are disabled.
You should find out if you are eligible within 30 days. Households eligible for expedited service get benefits within seven days. If you do not hear within 30 days, call or visit the
food stamp office.
Other nutrition programs available
The food stamp program is just one of many nutrition programs available. The federal government and many state and local government agencies sponsor numerous programs that provide people
with information about, and access to, a more nutritious diet. Many of these programs also are set up to improve the health and eating habits of children.
Several food distribution programs give commodities to needy households or to organizations that provide meal service to low-income people, including soup kitchens, churches and homeless
shelters.
- The Child and Adult Care Food Program offers meals and snacks to children in eligible day care centers, family day care homes and other care centers, as well as to functionally impaired adults and elderly
people in day care situations.
- The School Lunch and Breakfast Programs offer meals at schools to children. Low-income children get these meals free or at a reduced price, while other children have access to reasonably priced meals.
- The Summer Food Service Program offers free meals and snacks to needy children during the months when school is not in session.
- The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program provides low-income seniors (individuals who are at least 60 years old) with coupons during the harvest season that can be exchanged for eligible foods
at farmers’ markets, roadside stands and community supported agriculture programs.
For more information about these programs contact your local social services, health, agriculture or aging office.
Contacting Social Security
For more information and to find copies of our publications, visit our website at www.socialsecurity.gov or call toll-free, 1-800-772-1213
(for the deaf or hard of hearing, call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778). |
1. What is WIC?
WIC provides nutritious foods, nutrition counseling, and referrals to health and other social services to participants at no charge. WIC serves low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, and
infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk.
WIC is a Federal grant program for which Congress authorizes a specific amount of funding each year for program operations. The Food and Nutrition Service, which administers the program at the Federal level,
provides these funds to WIC State agencies (State health departments or comparable agencies) to pay for WIC foods, nutrition counseling and education, and administrative costs.
2. Where is WIC available?
The program is available in all 50 States, 33 Indian Tribal Organizations, America Samoa, District
of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These 88 WIC State agencies administer the program through 2,200 local agencies and 9,000 clinic sites.
3. Who is eligible?
Pregnant or postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5 are eligible. They must meet income guidelines, a State residency requirement, and be individually determined to be at “nutrition risk”
by a health professional.
To be eligible on the basis of income, applicants’ income must fall at or below 185 percent of the U.S. Poverty Income Guidelines (currently $34,873 for a family of four). A person who participates
or has family members who participate in certain other benefit programs, such as the Food Stamp Program, Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, automatically meets the income eligibility
requirement.
4. What is “nutrition risk?
Two major types of nutrition risk are recognized for WIC eligibility:
- Medically-based risks such as anemia, underweight, overweight, history of pregnancy complications, or poor pregnancy outcomes.
- Dietary risks, such as failure to meet the dietary guidelines or inappropriate nutrition practices.
Nutrition risk is determined by a health professional such as a physician, nutritionist, or nurse, and is based on Federal guidelines. This health screening is free to program applicants.
5. How many people does WIC serve?
More than 7.6 million people get WIC benefits each month. Children have always been the largest category of WIC participants. Of the 7.6 million people who received WIC benefits each month in FY 2003, approximately
3.82 million were children, 1.95 million were infants, and 1.86 million were women.
6. What food benefits do WIC participants receive?
In most WIC State agencies, WIC participants receive checks or vouchers to purchase specific foods each month that are designed to supplement their diets. A few WIC State agencies distribute the WIC foods
through warehouses or deliver the foods to participants’ homes. The foods provided are high in one or more of the following nutrients: protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. These are the nutrients
frequently lacking in the diets of the program’s target population. Different food packages are provided for different categories of participants.
WIC foods include iron-fortified infant formula and infant cereal, iron-fortified adult cereal, vitamin C-rich fruit or vegetable juice, eggs, milk, cheese, peanut butter, dried beans/peas, tuna fish and
carrots. Special therapeutic infant formulas and medical foods are provided when prescribed by a physician for a specified medical condition.
7. Who gets first priority for participation?
WIC cannot serve all eligible people, so a system of priorities has been established for filling program openings. Once a local WIC agency has reached its maximum caseload, vacancies are filled
in the order of the following priority levels:
- Pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and infants determined to be at nutrition risk because of a nutrition-related medical condition.
- Infants up to 6 months of age whose mothers participated in WIC or could have participated and had a serious medical problem.
- Children at nutrition risk because of a nutrition-related medical problem.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women and infants at nutrition risk because of an inadequate dietary pattern.
- Children at nutrition risk because of an inadequate dietary pattern.
- Non-breastfeeding, postpartum women with any nutrition risk.
- Individuals at nutrition risk only because they are homeless or migrants, and current participants who, without WIC foods, could continue to have medical and/or dietary problems.
8. What is the WIC infant formula rebate system?
Mothers participating in WIC are encouraged to breastfeed their infants if possible, but State WIC agencies will provide formula to mothers who choose to use it. WIC State agencies are
required by law to have competitively-bid infant formula rebate contracts with infant formula manufacturers. This means a WIC State agency agrees to provide one brand of infant formula to its participants
and in return receives money back, called a rebate, from the manufacturer for each can of infant formula that is purchased by WIC participants. As a result, WIC pays the lowest possible price for
infant formula. The brand of infant formula provided by WIC varies from State agency to State agency, depending on which company has the rebate contract in a particular State.
What is the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program?
The WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), established in 1992, provides additional coupons to WIC participants
that they can use to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers' markets. FMNP is funded through a Congressionally mandated set-aside in the WIC appropriation. The program has two goals:
To provide fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables, from farmers' markets to WIC participants who are at nutritional risk; and to expand consumers' awareness and use of farmers'
markets.
For more information
Contact the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Public Information Staff at 703-305-2286, or by mail at 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 819, Alexandria, Virginia 22302. Also, visit the
links WIC agencies serving participants in your area and How
to Apply to Participate in WIC.
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