The following information is
published to give our readers a more comprehensive view of eligibility for the
Food Stamp Program. It should not be
used to determine eligibility, because there are other deductions that may be
considered in each case such as childcare expenses, some medical expenses, and
if you pay child support. Each case is
determined on an individual basis and we encourage you to contact your local
Department of Social Services or you can call the Food Bank Coalition’s Food
Stamp Outreach Coordinator at 805-459-9839, for questions concerning food
stamps.
The County of San Luis Obispo has 6 local offices to serve you.
|
Arroyo Grande 1086 Grande Avenue Arroyo Grande, Ca. 93420 805-474-2000 |
Nipomo 671 W. Tefft Street Nipomo, Ca. 93444 805-931-1800 |
Morro Bay 1130-D Napa Avenue Morro Bay, Ca. 93442 805-772-6340 |
|
San Luis Obispo 3433 So. Higuera San Luis Obispo, Ca. 93401 805-781-1600 |
Atascadero 9415 El Camino Real Atascadero, Ca. 93422 805-461-6000 |
Paso Robles 530 12th Street Paso Robles, Ca. 93446 805-237-3110 |
Eligibility for the Food Stamp Program
Eligibility for the Food Stamp Program is based on financial and non-financial factors. The application process includes completing and filing an application form, being interviewed, and verifying facts crucial to determining eligibility. With certain exceptions, a household that meets the eligibility requirements is qualified to receive benefits. Legal immigrants who are children or disabled can now get food stamps, as can legal immigrants who have legally resided in the United States for at least 5 years. Other legal immigrants and any undocumented immigrants are ineligible for food stamp benefits. Also, many able-bodied, childless, unemployed adults have time limits on their receipt of food stamp benefits.
A household is defined as a person or a group of people living together, but not necessarily related, who purchase and prepare food together. Households, except those with elderly or disabled members, must have gross incomes below 130 percent of the poverty line. All households must have net incomes below 100 percent of poverty to be eligible. Most households may have up to $2,000 in countable resources (e.g., checking/savings account, cash, stocks/bonds). Households with at least one household member who is disabled or age 60 or older may have up to $3,000 in resources. Currently, program benefits provide an average of nearly 90 cents a meal per person.
FY 2006 Income
Eligibility Standards
These tables give the
Monthly Income Eligibility Standards for Fiscal Year 2006
(Oct. 1, 2005 to Sept. 30, 2006).
Net Monthly Income Eligibility Standards (100 Percent of Poverty
Level)
|
Household Size |
48 States 1 |
Alaska |
Hawaii |
|
1 |
$ 798 |
$ 996 |
$ 918 |
|
2 |
1,070 |
1,336 |
1,230 |
|
3 |
1,341 |
1,676 |
1,543 |
|
4 |
1,613 |
2,016 |
1,855 |
|
5 |
1,885 |
2,356 |
2,168 |
|
6 |
2,156 |
2,696 |
2,480 |
|
7 |
2,428 |
3,036 |
2,793 |
|
8 |
2,700 |
3,376 |
3,105 |
|
Each Additional
Member |
+272 |
+340 |
+313 |
Gross Monthly Income Eligibility Standards (130 Percent of Poverty Level)
|
Household Size |
48 States 1 |
Alaska |
Hawaii |
|
1 |
$1,037 |
$1,295 |
$1,193 |
|
2 |
1,390 |
1,737 |
1,599 |
|
3 |
1,744 |
2,179 |
2,006 |
|
4 |
2,097 |
2,621 |
2,412 |
|
5 |
2,450 |
3,063 |
2,818 |
|
6 |
2,803 |
3,505 |
3,224 |
|
7 |
3,156 |
3,947 |
3,631 |
|
8 |
3,509 |
4,389 |
4,037 |
|
Each Additional
Member |
+354 |
+442 |
+407 |
Gross Monthly Income Eligibility Standards for Households Where Elderly
Disabled Are a Separate Household (165 Percent of Poverty Level
|
Household Size |
48 States 1 |
Alaska |
Hawaii |
|
1 |
$1,316 |
$1,644 |
$1,514 |
|
2 |
1,765 |
2,205 |
2,030 |
|
3 |
2,213 |
2,766 |
2,546 |
|
4 |
2,661 |
3,327 |
3,061 |
|
5 |
3,109 |
3,888 |
3,557 |
|
6 |
3,558 |
4,449 |
4,092 |
|
7 |
4,006 |
5,010 |
4,608 |
|
8 |
4,454 |
5,571 |
5,124 |
|
Each Additional
Member |
+449 |
+561 |
+516 |
1 Includes District
of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands
What is the Food Stamp Shelter Deduction Cap?
- In order to allow food stamp allotments to more
accurately reflect actual household need, the Food Stamp Program takes
into account a household's shelter expenses when determining the
household's food stamp allotment. The Program does this by allowing
households to deduct shelter costs from their income. Current food stamp
rules, however, cap the amount of shelter costs non-elderly, non-disabled
households may deduct.
- In 1993, Congress enacted a phased-in elimination
of the shelter deduction cap, scheduled for full implementation by January
1, 1997. The 1996 welfare reform act repealed this provision, maintaining
a cap on the shelter deduction for most households with children.
Legislation enacted in late 2000 raised the cap to its current level.
At What Level is the Shelter Cap Set Under the 2000 Agriculture
Appropriations Act?
- Congress set the cap on the shelter deduction at
$340 in March 2001. It is adjusted periodically for inflation with the
current FY 2006 cap set at $400.1
Who is Affected by the Shelter Cap?
- The shelter deduction cap impacts families with
high shelter costs, whose food stamp allotments do not accurately reflect
their actual need. Such families are often forced to choose between paying
rent and feeding their children.
- Roughly 1.3 million households receive lower food
stamp benefits because of the shelter deduction cap; over 1 million of
these are households with children.2
- Poor families often face high shelter costs and
must divert resources from food and other household needs. In 1999, more
than half (52 percent) of our nation’s households with incomes low enough
to qualify for food stamps (130% of poverty) incurred shelter costs that
exceeded half of their income. Three quarters (75 percent) of households
with incomes low enough to qualify for food stamps paid over 30 percent of
their income on housing costs. Seventy-three percent of households with
children that have incomes low enough to qualify for food stamps paid over
30 percent of their income for shelter.3
1The Fiscal Year 2006 cap is $640 in Alaska,
$539 in Hawaii, $470 in Guam, and $315 in the Virgins Islands. The cap may also
be higher for households with an elderly or disabled person.
2USDA-FNS Office of Analysis, Nutrition
and Evaluation, “Characteristics of Food Stamp Households, Fiscal Year 2004,”
September 2005. For more information see Report Summary
and Entire Report.
3Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “The Food Stamp Shelter
Deduction: Helping Households with High Housing Burdens Meet Their Food Needs,”
June 2002 (data from The American Housing Survey for the United States in 1999,
U.S. Bureau of the Census and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development).
Standard Utility Allowances (SUA) Charts
Fiscal Year 2006
The Standard Utility Allowances (SUAs) listed below are optional at household request, unless they are shown as mandatory. SUAs are standardized utility figures States offer to households. They are used in place of actual utility costs to calculate a household's total shelter costs. (High shelter costs can result in a deduction from a household's net income for excess shelter costs. That can mean a higher food stamp allotment.) States calculate SUAs based on average utility costs in the State, or in local areas of the State. It is generally in a household's interest to use the SUA, unless its utility costs are high. In States with optional SUAs, a household can elect to claim actual utility costs, but must verify all the costs that it claims. (Where the notation "--" is used, it means the State agency has not established a standard, and uses actual utility costs.) The data presented here are based on an FNS survey of the States, and are updated as State agencies revise their SUAs and give us new figures, normally once a year. Note that HCSUA and non-heating & cooling LUA (Limited Utility Allowance) figures include the telephone standard, unless otherwise noted.
In a recent innovation, some States are using a single-utility allowance (S-US) for households with only a single utility cost separate from rent. The S-US is derived from the average of single utility costs paid by households with only one utility cost. Use of an S-US is noted by an asterisk on the LUA figure.
|
State |
HCSUA (annualized, with heating & cooling) |
LUA (annualized, without heating & cooling) |
Telephone Allowance |
SUA in
effect |
Mandatory SUA? |
|
Alabama |
$232 |
$166 |
$40 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Alaska |
$252-$651 * |
-- |
$23-$31 * |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Arizona |
$283 |
$219 * |
$37 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Arkansas |
$240 |
-- |
$25 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
California |
$223 |
-- |
$20 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Colorado |
$374 |
-- |
$26 |
03/1/06 |
No |
|
Connecticut |
$437 |
$235 |
$23 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Delaware |
$337 |
$230 * |
$18 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
District of |
$217 |
-- |
$21 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Florida |
$198 |
$173 |
$14 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Georgia |
$267 |
$159 |
$25.74 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Guam |
See note * |
See note * |
$24 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Hawaii |
See note * |
See note * |
$26 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Idaho |
$318 |
$146 * |
$49 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Illinois |
$268 |
$157 * |
$27 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Indiana |
$378 |
$218 |
$27 |
4/1/05 |
No |
|
Iowa |
$325 |
$145 * |
$36 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Kansas |
$282 |
$164 |
$31 |
02/1/06 |
Yes |
|
Kentucky |
$273 |
$195 |
$31 |
06/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Louisiana |
$322 |
$183 |
$24 |
10/1/05 |
No* |
|
Maine |
$401 |
$162 |
$27 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Maryland |
$275 |
$166 |
$30 |
01/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Massachusetts |
$474 |
$287 |
$31 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Michigan |
$464 |
see note * |
$31 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Minnesota |
$262 |
see note * |
$25 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Mississippi |
$229 |
$159 |
$24 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Missouri |
$252 |
$100 * |
$26 |
10/1/01 * |
Yes |
|
Montana |
$348 |
-- |
$32 |
01/1/04 * |
No |
|
Nebraska |
$305 |
$147 * |
$39 |
02/1/06 |
Yes |
|
Nevada |
$230 |
$151 * |
$16 * |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
New Hampshire |
$424 |
$205 * |
$25 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
New Jersey |
$286 |
$177 |
$29 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
New Mexico |
$214 |
$93 |
$29 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
New York: |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
North Carolina |
$229-$324 * |
$132-191 * |
$21 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
North Dakota |
$476 |
$185 * |
$38 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Ohio |
$487 |
-- |
$29 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Oklahoma |
$243 |
$210 |
$36 |
10/1/05 |
No* |
|
Oregon |
$292 |
$215 |
$36 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Pennsylvania |
$397 |
$211 * |
$29 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Rhode Island |
$357 |
N/A |
$22.50 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
South Carolina |
$188 |
$104 |
$27 |
01/1/05 |
Yes |
|
South Dakota |
$508 |
$148 * |
$40 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Tennessee |
$244-$326 * |
$126 |
$25 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Texas |
$245 |
$225 |
$21 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Utah |
$274 * |
$154 * |
$33 |
03/1/06 |
Yes* |
|
Vermont |
$473 |
$170 |
$34 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
Virginia |
$227-$282 * |
-- |
$41 |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Virgin Islands |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
No |
|
Washington |
$299-$344 * |
$236 |
$38 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
|
West Virginia |
$272 |
-- |
-- |
10/1/05 |
No |
|
Wisconsin |
$303 |
$195 * |
$25 |
10/1/05 |
Yes* |
|
Wyoming |
$387 |
$170 |
$34 |
10/1/05 |
Yes |
Compiled by Sherri Waltiere, for the Food Bank Coalition’s Food Stamp Outreach Program.