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.
Immigrant Status And Eligibility
The 2002 Farm Bill restores SNAP eligibility to most legal immigrants that:
- Have lived in the country for 5 years or
- Are receiving disability-related assistance or benefits or
- Have children under 18
Certain non-citizens, such as those admitted for humanitarian reasons and those admitted for permanent residence, may also be eligible for SNAP. Eligible household members can get SNAP benefits even if there are other members of the household that are not eligible.
Learn About School Meal Programs
Children from qualified households with a low income can get healthy meals or milk.
-
Two programs provide free or reduced-price meals at school:
-
Theyre enrolled in Head Start
Your children may qualify if your household income is within the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines. These guidelines are based on federal poverty guidelines.
-
If your income is no more than 130 percent of the poverty level, they should qualify for free meals.
-
If your income is no more than 185 percent of the poverty level, they should qualify for reduced-price meals.
The summer food service program is open to all children and teens 18 and under at locations around the country. Find a site near you.
Read Also: I Lost My Food Stamp Card
Food Stamp Act Of 1964
The Food Stamp Act of 1964appropriated $75 million to 350,000 individuals in 40 counties and three cities. The measure drew overwhelming support from House Democrats, 90 percent from urban areas, 96 percent from the suburbs, and 87 percent from rural areas. Republican lawmakers opposed the initial measure: only 12 percent of urban Republicans, 11 percent from the suburbs, and 5 percent from rural areas voted affirmatively. President Lyndon B. Johnson hailed food stamps as “a realistic and responsible step toward the fuller and wiser use of an agricultural abundance”.
Rooted in congressional logrolling, the act was part of a larger appropriation that raised price supports for cotton and wheat. Rural lawmakers supported the program so that their urban colleagues would not dismantle farm subsidies. Food stamps, along with Medicaid/Medicare, Head Start, and the Job Corps, were foremost among the growing anti-poverty programs.
President Johnson called for a permanent food-stamp program on January 31, 1964, as part of his “War on Poverty” platform introduced at the State of the Union a few weeks earlier. Agriculture Secretary Orville Freeman submitted the legislation on April 17, 1964. The bill eventually passed by Congress was H.R. 10222, introduced by Congresswoman Sullivan. One of the members on the House Committee on Agriculture who voted against the FSP in Committee was then Representative Bob Dole, of Kansas.
The major provisions were:
How To Apply For Snap Benefits In Illinois
In Illinois, one application is used to apply for Cash Assistance, Medical Assistance, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits. Applicants can get the application online or from the local Illinois DHS offices. The applicant needs to fill out all the required information on the application and return it to the office.
You can print the Illinois Application for Cash Assitance Medical Assistance Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , read the questions and complete all required information, sign, and turn your application into the local Illinois DHS Office where you live. If you need help call: 1-800-843-6154.
You can go into the local Illinois DHS Office and apply for SNAP benefits while you are there. A DHS employee will ask you questions pertinent to SNAP eligibility and enter your answers into a computer. In the end you will be given a computer printout with your answers on it. When you sign it this becomes your official application for SNAP benefits. In case you are physically unable to come into the local Illinois DHS office, an application can be mailed to you upon request. A caseworker can interview you over the phone.
If Illinois DHS finds you eligible for SNAP benefits, you will be eligible to receive food stamps from the date your signed application is received.
You may also apply for Illinois SNAP Benefits online via the ABE website. Applicants online may also check their eligibility and apply for Cash Assistance or Medical Assistance.
Read Also: What Are The Qualifications To Get Food Stamps
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.
Food Stamps For The Elderly & Disabled
It has been mentioned in the above eligibility requirements that households containing an elderly or disabled individual are held to different requirements. This includes increased limits for both income and resources. In order to fall under the special eligibility requirements, the following definitions are used.
Elderly:
- Someone that is 60 years old or older.
Disabled:
- Receives benefits through SSI, social security disability, or blindness payments.
- Receives disability or blindness payments through a state program that follows the rules of SSI.
- Receives disability retirement benefits through a government agency due to a disability that is deemed permanent according to the Social Security Act.
- Eligible for Medicare or disabled according to SSI rules and receives annuity payments under the Railroad Retirement Act.
- A veteran who is disabled, homebound, or in need of consistent aid.
- The surviving spouse or child of a veteran who is considered permanently disabled and receiving VA benefits.
SNAP eligibility is extended to many non-citizens based on their immigration status. In order to be eligible for SNAP, you must fit in one of the following qualified alien categories.
In order for non-citizens to be eligible for SNAP, they must fit into one of the above categories as well as meet one of the following conditions.
What non-citizen groups are ineligible for SNAP based on their citizenship status? There are five groups that are considered ineligible.
Excludes all vehicles
You May Like: Apply For Food Stamps Online Indiana
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.
What Percentage Of Illinois Households Receive Food Stamps
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, food insecurity throughout the United States affected more than 37 million people, among them 11 million children. That number, though staggering, represented the lowest point of food insecurity in the country in almost 90 years. Against the backdrop of the ongoing pandemic, national hunger-relief organization Feeding America expects more than 42 million Americans to face food shortages during 2021.
This demand puts additional strain on already-strapped food pantries and hunger-relief organizations, and drives significant need for increases in the countrys Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program .
Stacker compiled a list of the states where food stamps are used the most using SNAP data released July 10, 2020, by the USDA. The number of households and the poverty rate are current as of 2019 data from the Census Bureau. States are ranked by the percent of households that received food stamps in April 2020. Additional information came from sources like the Center for American Progress, Feeding America, and state websites and local food banks.
Recommended Reading: What Income Is Eligible For Food Stamps
How To Apply For Food Stamps In Illinois
Prospective SNAP candidates will likely wonder how to apply for food stamps in Illinois if they want to receive funding. This is especially true after claimants learn they may meet the states enrollment eligibility prerequisites. First, petitioners may elect to submit an online food stamps application. This is widely considered to be the most efficient option because applicants can arrange and submit their materials whenever they like. However, candidates who do not have access to the internet or computers may submit paper petitions to the IDHS by applying:
- Via fax.
Illinois Food Stamp Program
Whether searching for additional funds to help feed themselves or their entire families, the Illinois food stamps program can provide support to low-income residents. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program connects residents with funds they need to purchase healthy groceries that their households depend on each month. While SNAP in Illinois is only available to local, low-income candidates, the program operates nationally. SNAP is funded through federal funds and each state has the responsibility of carrying out its own iteration of the program within its counties.
The Illinois Department of Human Services runs this local SNAP food stamps program. Generally, this program is utilized by households who do not earn much income throughout the year. However, certain households with elderly or disabled members may qualify for benefits as well. The sections below provide a more detailed description of these food stamp requirements as they relate to specific facets, including identity, citizenship and familial income. The sections below also explain different ways claimants can apply for the program and the specific benefits enrollees may take advantage of once they are accepted into SNAP.
You May Like: How To Get Food Stamps In Louisiana
Maximum Monthly Amounts On Food Stamps
There is a maximum monthly allotment based on the size of the household. When determining your benefit allotment, they will take your net monthly income and multiply it by 30%. That number will then be subtracted from the maximum monthly allotment. The remaining amount is the total monthly allotment you will receive based on your application. This amount may change if your income or household size changes.
SNAP benefits are a specific money amount provided to recipients each month to go towards nutritional foods. Recipients are provided with an electronic benefits transfer card, and money is added to the card each month. You can check your balance by phone, and any unused funds at the end of the month remain on the card to be used to following month. Once allocated, benefits will not expire.
Benefits can be used to buy food and drinks at most grocery stores, convenient stores, gas stations, pharmacies that sell food, and farmers markets. Benefits cannot be used to buy alcohol, tobacco, medicine, hot food, food meant to be eaten in the store, or any non-food items.
What Documents Do I Need For The Application
For your application, you will need information about your income, social security number, any benefits you may be receiving, the social security numbers and birthdays of the people living in your household, and proof of your identification and residence. If there is anyone in your household who is receiving benefits such as disability, you will also have to provide this information during the application process or at the interview. Any other documents will be requested at the interview.
Recommended Reading: I Need To Fill Out A Food Stamp Application
Illinois By The Numbers
- Percent of households receiving food stamps: 17.8%
- Total households receiving food stamps: 864,878
- Average monthly benefit per household: $248
Roughly 1.5 million Illinois residents live in poverty, and one in six children struggle with hunger. Nonprofits like Operation Food and Inspiration Corp. work to close the gap. Illinois joined a multi-state lawsuit in 2020 against federal cutbacks to food stamp programs.
Here are the states using food stamps the most and least:
States using food stamps the most#1. New Mexico #2. Rhode Island #3. Washington D.C. States using food stamps the least#1. Wyoming #2. Utah #3. North Dakota
How To Check Your Snap Application Status In Illinois
The easiest way to check your SNAP application status is to visit the ABE website and log in. The online portal will tell you when your application was submitted and whether a decision was made on your application.
Otherwise, you may check your food stamp application status by calling your family community resource center. Remember that you will receive a formal notice as soon as your application is approved or denied.
You May Like: Sign Up For Food Stamps Wa
Illinois Snap Benefits Approval Rules Proofs Required
The DHS Office has to verify the provided information and interview you before determining if the household is eligible for SNAP Benefits. Here are some examples of information that may be needed at the SNAP application interview:
- Proof of your identity
- Proof of your citizenship such as birth certificate, U.S. passport, hospital record, etc.
- Immigration papers for persons applying for benefits, who are not U.S. citizens
- Social security numbers for persons applying for benefits
- Proof of income for each household member
Additional information and proof may be required depending upon your situation. In case you are not able to provide all the information during the SNAP application interview, you will be given time to provide the required proof.
Applicants for SNAP benefits in Illinois should get a response within 30 days from the date they submitted their application to the local DHS Office. Households cannot receive food stamps assistance from more than one State in a month. When start getting food stamps benefits, households must report any changes in their situation in a 6-months period in order to assure their participation in the Illinois Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The law limits the SNAP benefits to 3 months in a 3-year period for all able-bodied adults between the ages of 18-50 without dependents, who are not working or participating in a work program for at least 20 hours each week.
