Front Page / Issue Briefs / Health and Wellness & Environment and Natural Resources & Poverty / SNAP Enrollment / Overview

Issue Brief

SNAP Enrollment - Overview

Goal Statement   one sentence that further defines the topic

• To increase the number of qualified individuals and families who apply for and receive Food Assistance through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program and provide these applicants with adequate resources that will increase their level of food security. 

Local/State/National Information    additional information on this topic at the local, state, national, global level

• SNAP Enrollment - USA

• SNAP Enrollment - New Jersey

• SNAP Enrollment - Atlantic County, NJ 

• SNAP Enrollment - Middlesex County, NJ 

Policy Options / Model Programs   link to profiles of specific policies or program models, grouped by type 

According to the USDA's Food and Nutrition Services, there are four types of demonstration projects that increase program access: Combined Application Projects (CAP), Community Partner Interviewer Demonstration Projects, Elderly Simplified Application Projects, and Tribal Eligibility Demonstration Projects. ^[1]

However, we are focused on two primary approaches to increasing enrollment in Food Stamps (SNAP) by eligible populations:

• Improve Outreach to Eligible Populations

• General Outreach

• Basic Outreach (Non-Media)
• Announcements in utility bills
• Example: At the request of the Hunger Action Network of New York State, KeySpan Energy, a natural gas company, placed a blurb about the SFSP in their bills to customers in Queens, NY.^[2]
• Postcard Mailings
• Send a site recruitment postcard to [community sites, at which clients] could qualify for the SFSP. 
• Flyers/letters/newsletter articles from schools, churches, local community groups, housing authorities, etc. 
• Posters in high traffic areas
• Information on community bulletin boards
• Lawn signs or street banners at sites or downtown areas^[3] 
• Mobil Benefits Van
• Media Outreach 
• High-Profile Publicity
• Conduct outreach to elected officials by sending information and inviting them to see meal sites^[4] 
• Promising Practices

• Coordination of intake practices with community access initiatives

• Retention of eligible households' participation in SNAP at the point of re-certification

• Seniors

• SNAS New Jersey (Simplified Nutrition Assistance for Seniors): "The Simplified Nutritional Assistance for Seniors (SNAS) Program provides outreach to elderly residents receiving SSI benefits making it easier for those individuals to apply for food stamp benefits. ^[5] 

• Elderly Nutrition Pilot Projects (of 2002-2004)

• Nationwide, only three out of 10 persons who are age 60 and older and eligible for food stamp benefits participate in the Food Stamp Program (FSP)...  In response to this issue, the Food and Nutrition Service provided $2.4 million in grants to 6 States (Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Michigan, and North Carolina) to test ways of reducing application barriers and encouraging food stamp participation among eligible elderly persons.  

• The projects operated under time-limited demonstration authority and were funded to operate at least two years over the period 2002 to 2004.

• The pilots tested three different approaches at the county level:

1. Simpler eligibility determination rules - Florida

2. One-on-one application assistance - Maine, Michigan and Arizona, and

3. A commodity alternative instead of food stamps - Connecticut and North Carolina 

• In May 2005, the Economic Research Service (ERS) released the findings of the independent evaluation of the pilots conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. The results indicated that most of the demonstrations had relatively large increases in elderly FSP participation after 21 months. ^[6] 
• "Promising Practices in Food Stamp Outreach Targeted to Seniors"
• Immigrants
• "Promising Practices in Food Stamp Program Outreach Targeted to Hispanic Populations"
• Food Stamp outreach brochures in Spanish with tear-off tabs containing their outreach hotline number 
• bilingual eligibility specialist or customer service representative takes Food Stamp Program applications and answers questions at residencies where more than 90 percent of the tenants speak Spanish. (Virginia) 
• Hiring Culturally Appropriate Outreach Staff
• Seasonal Workers
• Satellite Office 

• Application Process Changes

• Improvements in Application

• Internet-Based Application
• 5-Page (Shortened) Application
• Policy Change
• Waiver (Policy Change) (Pennsylvania)
• Model Program - Combined Application Project Projects that partner the Social Security Administration, State Agencies, Food and Nutrition Service to simplify the food stamp application process for recipients of Supplementary Security Income who live alone.

• Benefit Bank

Glossary of Terms   key words or phrases that the layperson needs to know to understand this issue

• Countable Resources: those [resources] remaining after eliminating from consideration any asset that is not a resource and property essential to self-support, and after applying all appropriate exclusions to the assets that are resources. Countable resources, which are determined on a monthly basis, are compared with the statutory resources limit to determine whether an individual (or couple) is eligible for that month. As of January 1992, the applicable limits are $2,000 for an individual without a spouse and $3,000 for an individual with an eligible spouse or a living-with ineligible spouse. ^[7]
• EBT: stands for Electronic Benefits Transfer.  The EBT card is similar to a bank card, with a secret Personal Identification Number (PIN) to use the [SNAP/food stamp] benefits that are deposited into an account... Once your benefits are deposited into your account, you can begin using your card.^[8]

• Eligibility (for food stamps): is based on income. If your income is less than or equal to the amounts in the charts supplied (based on your family size), you may be eligible for Food Stamps.^[9]

• For information regarding food stamp eligibility, please proceed to the following two links (the first is a general overview of eligibility requirements, and the second link directs to the national food stamp pre-screening website, which in turn links you to your specific State's pre-screening tool):

• Overview

• Pre-Screen Online for Food Stamps

• FNS (Federal Nutrition Service): administers the food and nutrition assistance programs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. FNS provides children and needy families with better access to food and a more healthful diet through its programs and nutrition education efforts. ^[10]

• Food Stamp utilization: refers to the efficiency of food stamp programs in capturing those in need of food assistance and maximizing program benefits. Access to and benefits from food stamps can be impeded through a number of different problems from awareness, registration and procedural difficulties, difficulties in how food stamps are allocated, and the perceived benefit of food stamp resources.

• Food Security: including both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs as well as their food preferences. ^[11]

• Food Stamps: a government-issued coupon [now in the form of an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card,] that is sold or given to low-income persons and is redeemable for food ^[12]

• Household: includes all the persons who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room that is occupied (or if vacant, is intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live and eat separately from any other persons in the building and which have direct access from the outside of the building or through a common hall. The occupants may be a single family, one person living alone, two or more families living together, or any other group of related or unrelated persons who share living arrangements. (People not living in households are classified as living in group quarters.) ^[13] 

• Income (earned): compensation from participation in a business, including wages, salary, tips, commissions and bonuses. ^[14]

• Income (unearned): an individual's income derived from sources other than employment, such as interest and dividends from investments, or income from rental property. ^[15]

• SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program):  SNAP helps low-income people and families buy the food they need for good health. You apply for benefits by completing a State application form. Benefits are provided on an electronic card that is used like an ATM card and accepted at most grocery stores. Through nutrition education partners, SNAP helps clients learn to make healthy eating and active lifestyle choices.

• SNAP Retailer: a store that welcomes SNAP benefits.^[16]  

• To find a SNAP retailer near you, take a look at the SNAP Retailer Locator, provided by the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service. 

• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families): is a program that provides cash assistance and supportive services to assist the family, helping them achieve economic self-sufficiency. ^[17] 

• Vulnerability: is a ‘forward looking’ concept that seeks to describe how prone individuals and families are to being unable to cope with uncertain adverse events that may happen to them, like [food insecurity] ^[18]

• Categorically Eligibility (Cat-El):  If all household members receive or are authorized to receive SSI and/or TANF, then the household is considered to be categorically eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program), assuming it is qualified under special conditions. ^[19]

• Expanded Cat-El:  Some states have expanded the definition of categorical eligibility in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program) to include households that do not meet the requirement that all household members receive SSI and/or TANF. These states have identified programs so that if at least one household member participates in them, or the household meets other conditions, then the household is considered to be categorically eligible.^[20]

• 185% PVL: Gross income is above 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines 
• 130% PVL: Gross income is above 130 percent of the federal poverty guidelines

Bibliography

• "Household Food Security and Tradeoffs in the Food Budget of Food Stamp Program Participants"

• Best State Nutrition Aid Programs 9/30/09 — Each year, USDA awards a total of $12 million in performance bonuses to eight States with the best and most improved program access index. The program access index is the ratio of participants to the number of persons below 125 percent of poverty and reflects State performance in reaching those eligible for these important nutrition benefits. USDA also awards $6 million to six States with the highest rate of timely processed applications, an important indicator of customer service in administering the Program.

• New Jersey Hunger Prevention Advisory Committee: 2009 Report to the Legislature

• 'Rebranding and Target Populations'

• Video on SNAP from the New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition 

Contributor(s):