Receiving Your Snap Benefits: Lone Star Card
When you qualify for SNAP, you will be receiving benefits through Lone Star Card. This is a standard plastic card, as in the case of debit cards. The card is used just like a debit card. You will have the money in your account on due date and you can purchase food items with it, using it like a debit card.
The United States Department of Agriculture provides SNAP benefits. USDA will load your card with your monthly amount of SNAP benefits, each month. You can use this money on stores where regular debit card works.
If you qualify and receive a Lone Star Card, it is your responsibility to use it with care. No one else can use your card since it is illegal to allow someone else to use your benefits. If you are in a situation where you’ll need someone else to use your card for you, you will have to ask for a second card. You can then give the second card to someone you trust. The money spent from that card will be deducted from your primary card.
In order to start using your Lone Star Card, you will have to sign at the back of your card after you receive it. You will also need to register it in order to use it. You can call 1 800 777 7328 to register your card. You will then choose a PIN for your card.
If you opt to pick up your card at HHSC benefits office instead of getting it in mail, you won’t have to register it. When you are handed over the card at the office, it is registered at spot.
Definition Of A Household
When determining eligibility, you need to provide information on all members of the household. A household, for this situation, is defined as all individuals that live together and purchase and prepare meals together. Likewise, you may have people living with you that are not considered part of your household. For example, if you rent a room to someone that does not purchase or prepare food with you, they are not part of your household. However, whatever they pay you for rent has to be counted under income.
There are two exceptions to this definition. The first is a household that includes a husband, wife, and children under 22 years of age. This group will be considered a household even if they purchase and prepare meals separately. The second exception is elderly or disabled individuals that are unable to purchase and prepare their meals independently and live with others that do.
El Paso Food Stamp Program
The SNAP plan for Texas was previously simply known as the food stamp program. It is responsible for ensuring that low income families are able to have access to healthy food throughout the month without having to sacrifice paying bills or their rent to make ends meet. In this state, SNAP benefits are awarded to people individually or family, depending on the situation. The main focus is the ratio of the income amount to the household size. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission ensures that the SNAP plan is being used correctly and sends out renewal notices to families using SNAP before the benefit period ends. The benefit periods last for around six months but can also be shorter, such as one month. It can also be longer, such as a period of three years. It all depends on the situation of the individual. The amount of benefits that you receive can depend on additional factors such as if you are single, if you are participating in a job training program, if you are a family of four, or if you are a family with a parent that is unemployed. More information can be learned about this program by visiting the HHSC website.
For more information about accessing SNAP benefits in El Paso, Texas you can use the following contact information.
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Who Is Eligible For Summer P
Three groups are eligible to receive summer P-EBT. Children in K-12 must have been enrolled in a Texas school during the last month of the 2020-2021 school year to be eligible for summer P-EBT.
If a family completes an NSLP form or socioeconomic form and are found eligible, they do not need to take any further action to receive P-EBT schools will be providing information to HHS to issue P-EBT benefits. A socioeconomic form cannot be completed now to be eligible for summer P-EBT, unless you attend a newly eligible Community Eligibility Provision or Provision 2 school.
This includes families that are newly enrolled for the 20212022 school year at a CEP or P2 school and attended a Texas school that provided free meals through NSLP during the 20202021 school year.
Who Is It For
- People who dont have a lot of money as long as they meet program rules.
- Most adults age 18 to 49 with no children in the home can get SNAP for only 3 months in a 3-year period. The benefit period might be longer if the person works at least 20 hours a week or is in a job or training program. Some adults might not have to work to get benefits, such as those who have a disability or are pregnant.
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Learn About The Types Of Food You Can Buy With Snap Benefits
If youre eligible, you can purchase food using benefits that are issued to you monthly. You can use your SNAP benefits to buy a variety of foods for your household, including:
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Fruits and vegetables
See the United States Department of Agriculture’s list of foods and products you can buy using SNAP benefits.
Applying For Expedited Benefits
To receive benefits, you must fill out and submit an application. You can do this online at YourTexasBenefits.com. If that’s not possible, you have a few choices:
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Print out an application from the YourTexasBenefits.com and then fax, mail or bring the completed application to your local HHSC office. If you fax or mail the application, send a copy of your government-issued ID. If you visit the HHSC to deliver the application in person, bring your ID with you.
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Request that HHSC mail you an application.
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If you need help accessing or filling out an application, you can get assistance by calling 2-1-1, 877-541-7905 or by visiting a community partner organization. texascommunitypartnerprogram.com offers a list of organizations that provide help with benefit forms.
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Texans In Need Can Apply For Benefits At Yourtexasbenefitscom
Texas A lot of Texans are wondering how to apply for food stamps this year.
Its actually one of the top trending internet searches across the U.S. and Texas has the most inquiries, according to Google Trends.
The current program for food benefits in Texas is called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , also known as food stamps.
The SNAP program allows qualifying Texans to receive funds on a Lone Star Card that can be used to purchase items like fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, breads and cereals.
SNAP is a federal program that provides food assistance to approximately 1.4 million eligible low-income families and individuals in Texas, according to state officials.
In order to qualify, individuals/families cannot exceed a certain monthly income based on their family size. Most people age 16 to 59 must follow work rules to get SNAP benefits. Work rules mean a person must look for a job or be in an approved work program. If the person has a job, they cant quit without a good reason, according to Texas Health and Human Services .
With an unprecedented number of claims for unemployment this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the applications for SNAP benefits has also skyrocketed, according to the Statesman.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, approximately $188 million in emergency food benefits has been provided by THHS.
Food Security And Insecurity
While SNAP participants and other low-income nonparticipants spend similar amounts on food spending, SNAP participants tend to still experience greater food insecurity than nonparticipants. This is believed to be a reflection of the welfare of individuals who take the time to apply for SNAP benefits rather than the shortcomings of SNAP. Households facing the greatest hardships are the most likely to bear the burden of applying for program benefits. Therefore, SNAP participants tend to be, on average, less food secure than other low-income nonparticipants.
Self-selection by more food-needy households into SNAP makes it difficult to observe positive effects on food security from survey data, but data such as average income can be compared. Statistical models that control for this suggest that SNAP receipt reduces the likelihood of being food insecure and very food insecure by roughly 30 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
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Emergency Food Stamps In Texas
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission can take up to 30 days to process an application for Special Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as food stamps. If you need immediate assistance, however, you may qualify for the expedited program and receive benefits the business day after you file your application.
First Food Stamp Program
The idea for the first food stamp program has been credited to various people, most notably Secretary of AgricultureHenry A. Wallace and the program’s first administrator, Milo Perkins. Of the program, Perkins said, “We got a picture of a gorge, with farm surpluses on one cliff and under-nourished city folks with outstretched hands on the other. We set out to find a practical way to build a bridge across that chasm.” The program operated by permitting people on relief to buy orange stamps equal to their normal food expenditures for every $1 of orange stamps purchased, 50 cents’ worth of blue stamps were received. Orange stamps could be used to buy any food blue stamps could be used only to buy food determined by the department to be surplus.
Over the course of nearly four years, the first FSP reached approximately 20 million people in nearly half of the counties in the United States at a total cost of $262 million. At its peak, the program assisted an estimated four million people. The first recipient was Mabel McFiggin of Rochester, New York the first retailer to redeem the stamps was Joseph Mutolo and the first retailer caught violating program rules was Nick Salzano in October 1939. The program ended when the conditions that brought the program into beingunmarketable food surpluses and widespread unemploymentceased to exist.
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How To Apply For Emergency Food Stamps
In certain situations, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services will speed up your application for food stamps. If you meet the requirements, emergency food stamps can be given within 24 hours. To qualify for accelerated SNAP benefits in Texas, you must fulfill one of the following criteria:
- All household members are seasonal or migrant workers and are destitute with less than $100 in funds
- The household has less than $100 in funds and its monthly gross income is under $150
- The monthly household income and cash is less than the households monthly housing expenses
If you apply for food assistance online or by paper, look for this section. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services will assess your answers in this area to see if your situation is critical and determine if you qualify for emergency food stamp benefits in Texas
There is no separate application for emergency food stamps in Texas. You submit the same paperwork as you would for regular SNAP benefits. To begin, you may fill out an online form at Your Texas Benefits.
Texas Food Stamp Office Locations
There are Texas food stamp office facilities in various cities and towns throughout the state. At these locations, you can submit your initial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program application. Afterward, you may also need to visit one of these offices for your program interview.
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Find Out If You Or Your Children Are Eligible For The Wic Program
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If youre applying for yourself, you must be at least one of the following:
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Pregnant
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Breastfeeding
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Within six months of having given birth or pregnancy ending
If youre applying for your children, they must be under 5 years old.
You must meet other WIC eligibility requirements based on your income, your health, and where you live.
Corporate Influence And Support
In June 2014, Mother Jones reported that “Overall, 18 percent of all food benefits money is spent at Walmart,” and that Walmart had submitted a statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating,
Our business operations are subject to numerous risks, factors, and uncertainties, domestically and internationally, which are outside our control. These factors include… changes in the amount of payments made under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan and other public assistance plans, changes in the eligibility requirements of public assistance plans.
Companies that have lobbied on behalf of SNAP include PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and the grocery chain Kroger. Kraft Foods, which receives “One-sixth revenues … from food stamp purchases” also opposes food stamp cuts.
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Expedited Food Stamps Interview
Once you submit your food stamps application someone will call you to set up an appointment to review your application to make a determination on your benefits. This typically takes place at an office, however, if you cannot get to their location you can request a phone interview.
During this interview, a worker will review your application to ensure your information is correct. They will also determine that you meed the requirements for emergency food stamps based on the SNAP Expedited Screening Sheet.
Remember to qualify for emergency food stamps you will need to meet one of the following requirements:
- All household members are seasonal or migrant workers and are destitute with less than $100 in funds
- The household has less than $100 in funds and its monthly gross income is under $150
- The monthly household income and cash is less than the households monthly housing expenses