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How to Apply for Food Stamps Benefits
The Application Process:
- You may request an application for food stamps by phone, in person, by fax, or by mail from your county office.
- Applications for food stamp benefits are available online.
- One adult household member or authorized representative must sign the application for food stamp benefits under penalty of perjury.
- Complete as much of your application as you can. Your name, address and signature are necessary on the application to be accepted by the local food stamp office. The application will be accepted on the same day it is turned in, even if there is no interview on that day.
- When your application has been turned in, the county welfare department will setup an interview to go over your application. There is a list of documents you will need to bring to your interview.
- As soon as all necessary information is provided and verified for eligibility, you will be able to receive your food stamps within 30 days of your dated application.
- You may be categorically eligible if you are receiving CalWORKs, General Assistance (GA), or General Relief (GR).
- You may qualify for expedited service and receive your food stamp benefits within three (3) days if you meet the requirements.
Household Member – Food Stamp Households
A Food Stamp household is a group of people who live together, buy food, and prepare meals together and whose members meet the eligibility requirements and are approved for benefits. The amount of food stamp benefits you get will depend on the number of eligible people in your household and on how much monthly income is left after certain expenses (deductions) are subtracted.
Interview
- A face-to-face interview is required before certifying your household to get food stamp benefits. There are some exceptions to this rule. This is normally conducted in the county welfare office or a mutually agreed upon location. The interview may be held with the head of household, spouse, the authorized representative or any other responsible household family member. A face-to-face interview is required annually.
- An eligibility worker will explain the program rules and help your household complete any parts of the application that have not yet been completed.
- After the interview, the food stamp office will send a notice. If your household does not qualify for food stamp benefits, the notice will explain why. If your household does qualify, the notice will explain how much the food stamp benefit will be for your household. It will also explain how many months you can receive food stamps (certification period) before re-applying.
- Local food stamp office officials may waive the face-to-face part of the interview requirement if traveling to the county welfare department would be a hardship for your household. The face-to-face feature must be waived if your household is composed only of elderly or disabled members with no earned income.
Documents to Bring to Interview
At the time of your interview, please bring verification with you of your income and expenses. If you cannot get all the information together by your interview date, still come for the interview because you will have additional time to provide this information. If you need assistance in obtaining this information, please discuss this with your food stamp worker at the time of the interview. The following are examples of what to bring:
- Proof of identity (driver's license, etc.), alien status.
- Social Security Numbers for all household members.
- If employed, proof of income (wage stubs, earning statements, etc.) for the past 30 days.
- Bank statements for checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, credit union accounts, retirement accounts, stocks, bonds, dividends, etc.
- Proof of shelter costs (rent or mortgage payment, lot rent, household, real estate, taxes, utility bills – heat, electricity, water/sewage/garbage, telephone, etc.)
Verification
The food stamp worker will also ask for proof of certain information that has been reported. The following must be verified prior to certification:
- Identification
- Immigration Status
- Sponsored Noncitizen Information
- Residency
- SSN/Application for all Household Members
- Gross Income
- Disability
- Utility Expenses
- Medical Expenses
- Child Support Obligations and Payments
An exception is for expedited service, only identification is required and other verification can be postponed. Other verification such as shelter costs, dependent care costs, household size, and liquid resources do not require verification unless questionable.
Categorical Eligibility
Households in which all members are authorized or receiving cash aid, such as CalWORKS or GA/GR, are considered categorically eligible. This means the Food Stamp Program accepts eligibility determinations made by the other program for resources, gross and net income limits, sponsored alien information, county residency, and social security number information. Food Stamp Households containing California Food Assistance (CFAP) recipients are not categorically eligible.
Expedited Service
Households that qualify for expedited service (ES) go through the same application Process as all other clients, but not all information has to be verified before benefits are issued. Households may qualify for expedited service (ES) based on one of the eligibility factors below:
- Less than $150 in monthly gross income and liquid resources of $100 or less; or
- Migrant or seasonal farm workers who are destitute; or
- Households that have combined monthly gross income and liquid resources which are less than their monthly rent or mortgage and utilities; or
- Homeless.
Food Stamp Benefits will be made available to the household no later than the third calendar day following the date the application was filed. Applicants are informed of and are automatically considered for expedited service at the time the application is filed.