How To Apply For Arkansas Food Stamps
This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013. This article has been viewed 38,211 times.
The Food Stamp program, or SNAP is available in most states to provide financial support to low income families. Its purpose is to minimize hunger and support good nutrition. To be eligible for SNAP, families or individuals must meet certain standards that are established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by individual state departments. In Arkansas, the SNAP program is administered by the Arkansas Department of Human Services . There are procedures you must follow to determine your eligibility, to apply and to use the food stamps that the state provides.
Licensing Monitoring And Inspections
Licensed child care facilities must meet specific guidelines to become certified. There are no licensed exempt facilities in Arkansas. All facilities that receive funding are either licensed or registered.
DHS Licensing Specialists will visit facilities and homes unannounced at least three times a year to ensure that each child care facility meets minimum licensing standards While onsite, they may interview and observe staff to determine their daily routine and effectiveness in age-appropriate instruction. Example items Licensing Specialists may review:
- Personnel Policies
Who Is Eligible For Arkansas Food Stamps
The food stamps program is SNAP focused on helping low-income individuals and families, predominantly serving households with children, elderly or disabled members.
Nearly half of all food stamps participants are children.
Eligibility for SNAP is limited to people with gross incomes up to 130% of the federal poverty line.
This means that a family of four can make no more than $2,790 a month to receive benefits.
Able-bodied adults without dependents can only receive three months of benefits during any three-year period if theyre not working a minimum of 20 hours per week or participating in a training program.
There are several requirements you have to meet to be approved for Arkansas food stamps and EBT, however, the most important is the income limit.
As stated above, to be eligible for food stamps, your gross income cannot exceed 130% of the federal poverty line.
In addition, after deductions are taken out, your net income cannot exceed 100% of the poverty level.
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A Child Maltreatment Investigation Had A True Finding That Would Place Me On The Child Maltreatment Registry
You must ask for an administrative hearing to contest the finding within 30 calendar days of getting a notice about the true findings in the child maltreatment investigation.
- You may email your request to or
- You may send your request by mail to:
Department of Human ServicesP.O. Box 1437, Slot N401Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
The Appeals & Hearing Section will send you a letter about the hearing, including the time, date and place of the hearing. The name of the hearing officer will also be included. Hearings are held by telephone if neither you nor DHS requests the hearing to be in person. If the hearing is held in person, it will be held in a DHS office closest to where you live, unless the Administrative Law Judge decides the hearing should be held by videoconference.
How To Apply For Food Stamps Online In Arkansas
You can apply online using the ACCESS Arkansas portal. This website is used for most benefits provided by the DHS and other government agencies in the state. In fact, if you qualify for more than one type of service, it is possible to apply for each one using the same site.
Before you can apply for SNAP online, you will need to have an account. Creating an account requires that you enter an email address, password and username. To complete your food stamp application online, simply follow the on-screen prompts and submit your form once it is finished.
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Eligible Food Items Under Snap
As per USDA rules, households can use SNAP benefits to purchase:
- Foods for the household to eat, such as:
- fruits and vegetables
Soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, and ice cream are classified as food items and are therefore eligible items. Seafood, steak, and bakery cakes are also food items and are therefore eligible items.
Energy drinks which have a nutrition facts label are eligible foods, but energy drinks which have a supplement facts label are classified by the FDA as supplements, and are therefore not eligible.
Live animals and birds may not be purchased but live fish and shellfish are eligible foods. Pumpkins are eligible, but inedible gourds and solely ornamental pumpkins are not.
Gift baskets containing both food and non-food items “are not eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits if the value of the non-food items exceeds 50 percent of the purchase price. Items such as birthday and other special occasion cakes are eligible as long as the value of non-edible decorations does not exceed 50 percent of the price.”
Food Stamp Act Of 1977
Both the outgoing Republican Administration and the new Democratic Administration offered Congress proposed legislation to reform the FSP in 1977. The Republican bill stressed targeting benefits to the neediest, simplifying administration, and tightening controls on the program the Democratic bill focused on increasing access to those most in need and simplifying and streamlining a complicated and cumbersome process that delayed benefit delivery as well as reducing errors, and curbing abuse. The chief force for the Democratic Administration was Robert Greenstein, Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service .
In Congress, major players were Senators George McGovern, Jacob Javits, Hubert Humphrey, and Bob Dole, and Congressmen Foley and Richmond. Amid all the themes, the one that became the rallying cry for FSP reform was “EPR”eliminate the purchase requirementbecause of the barrier to participation the purchase requirement represented. The bill that became the law did eliminate the purchase requirement. It also:
- eliminated categorical eligibility
In addition to EPR, the Food Stamp Act of 1977 included several access provisions:
The integrity provisions of the new program included fraud disqualifications, enhanced Federal funding for States’ anti-fraud activities, and financial incentives for low error rates.
EPR was implemented January 1, 1979. Participation that month increased 1.5 million over the preceding month.
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Dhs Decided That I Am Not Eligible For Tea Benefits
To appeal, you must send a letter to DHS requesting an administrative hearing. You should have gotten a letter that told you about this decision. You must send your request for a hearing within 30 calendar days of the date on the letter or your request will be denied. You can use this form to make a request.
- You may email your request to or
- You may send your request by mail to:
Department of Human ServicesP.O. Box 1437, Slot N401Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
Find Out About Snap Benefits In Arkansas
Arkansas SNAP benefits are distributed through electronic benefits transfer cards. These cards look and work like debit cards, which allows recipients to have discretion and helps speed up the check-out process.
If you qualify for benefits, you may use your EBT card at authorized grocery stores and farmers markets. In addition, the AR DHS has a farmers market and farm stand initiative, which allows you to receive a one-to-one dollar match on the farmers market and farm stand products you buy.
If you receive food stamp benefits, remember that you may use them to purchase only approved food items. For instance, you can use your EBT card to buy:
- Fruits and vegetables.
- Meat substitutes, such as tofu or bean burgers.
- Dairy products.
- Hot foods and prepared foods.
- Cleaning supplies, toiletries and cosmetics.
- And more.
However, there are certain exceptions for live animals and prepared foods. You may purchase live shellfish from a seafood counter, as it is meant to be prepared and consumed at home. You may also purchase dessert and bread items from the bakery section of a market, even though most prepared foods are prohibited.
The rules of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program also state that foods with supplement labels instead of nutrition labels may not be purchased with an EBT card. For example, you may buy regular gummy bears, but not vitamin gummy bears. You can to discover more about the foods you can buy with benefits.
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How To Qualify For Snap In Arkansas
To qualify for SNAP in Arkansas, you must meet the following requirements:
- You must be a United States citizen or legal resident
- You must be a resident of Arkansas
- You must have a household income and resources that do not exceed the limits set by Arkansas and the federal government
- You must work or participate in an employment training program, if applicable
Learn more about Arkansass income limits and other eligibility criteria here.
View Or Download Our Free Guide
While we are not affiliated with the government in any way, our private company engaged writers to research the Food Stamps program and compiled a guide and the following answers to frequently asked questions. Our goal is to help you get the benefits that you need by providing useful information on the process.
Our free Food Stamps Guide is filled with helpful information about how to apply, program eligibility and how to get in touch with local offices. You can view or download our free guide here.
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Learn About Arkansas Food Stamps
Are you thinking of applying for the Arkansas food stamps program? If so, it is important to review the eligibility requirements, application process and your rights and responsibilities if you receive benefits. Otherwise, you risk having your application rejected if you did not submit it in the correct manner or do not abide by the regulations.
This program was renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP program, to help fight the stigma surrounding government benefits. In Arkansas alone, approximately 388,000 people receive benefits. More than 76 percent of Arkansas recipients are families with children, and nearly 37 percent are families with seniors or people with disabilities. These recipients have extremely low income, and SNAP helps expand their food budgets.
How Can I Apply For Food Stamps
To apply for food stamp benefits, or for information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , contact your local SNAP office. You can find local offices and each State’s application on the USDA national map. Local offices are also listed in the State or local government pages of the telephone book. The office should be listed under “Food Stamps,” “Social Services,” “Human Services,” “Public Assistance,” or a similar title. You can also call your State’s SNAP hotline numbers. Most are toll-free numbers.
Each State has its own application form. If your States form is not on the web yet, you’ll need to contact your local SNAP office to request one. Please don’t call USDA or HHS headquarters as only your State accepts applications and determines eligibility.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is administered by the US Department of Agriculture , Food and Nutrition Service program.
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Medicaid Or Arkids First Will Not Pay For A Service I Got From My Health Care Provider
You should get a letter letting you know that payment for the services has been denied. If you disagree and want to appeal, you must send a letter to DHS asking for an administrative hearing within 30 calendar days of the date on the letter you got from Medicaid or ARKids First. If DHS does not get your request letter on time, your request will be denied. You can use this form to make a request.
- You may email your request to or
- You may send your request by mail to:
Department of Human ServicesP.O. Box 1437, Slot N401Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
What You Need For Apply For Snap Benefits
To apply for SNAP benefits, you need to provide personal information. This includes your Social Security number , birth date, home address , income, and expenses. SNAP has certain income guidelines. You can view the SNAP eligibility charts to find the guideline that applies to your household.
You may need more information in certain situations:
- If you are applying for other people in your household, you will need their personal information
- If you want someone to apply or get SNAP benefits for you, you will need their contact information
You will need to verify your income, expenses and other information:
- We will tell you what you information need to give us after your interview
- To receive a decision as soon as possible, send these documents in with your application.
Below are the ways you can apply for SNAP benefits.
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Welfare Reform And Subsequent Amendments
The mid-1990s was a period of welfare reform. Prior to 1996, the rules for the cash welfare program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children , were waived for many states. With the enactment of the 1996 welfare reform act, called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 , AFDC, an entitlement program, was replaced that with a new block grant to states called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families TANF.
Although the Food Stamp Program was reauthorized in the 1996 Farm Bill, the 1996 welfare reform made several changes to the program, including:
- denying eligibility for food stamps to most legal immigrants who had been in the country less than five years
- placing a time limit on food stamp receipt of three out of 36 months for Able-bodied Adults Without Dependents who are not working at least 20 hours a week or participating in a work program
- reducing the maximum allotments to 100 percent of the change in the Thrifty Food Plan from 103 percent of the change in the TFP
- freezing the standard deduction, the vehicle limit, and the minimum benefit
- setting the shelter cap at graduated specified levels up to $300 by fiscal year 2001, and allowing states to mandate the use of the standard utility allowance
- revising provisions for disqualification, including comparable disqualification with other means-tested programs and
- requiring states to implement EBT before October 1, 2002.
What Can I Buy With Ebt In Arkansas
You are allowed to use your food stamps benefits card to buy foods that your household will prepare to eat at home, including the following
- breads and cereals
- Seeds and plants to produce food for the household to eat
- Soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, and ice cream
- Seafood, steak, and bakery cakes
- Energy drinks that have a nutrition facts label
- Energy drinks that have a supplement facts label are classified by the FDA as supplements and are therefore not eligible
Now that you know what you can buy with your SNAP card, here is the list of things you CANNOT buy with the card:
- Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco
- Any nonfood items, such as pet foods, soaps, paper products, diapers, and household supplies
- Vitamins and medicines
- Food that will be eaten in the store
- Hot foods
- Live animals
NOTE: In some areas, restaurants can be authorized to accept SNAP benefits from qualified homeless, elderly, or disabled people in exchange for low-cost meals.
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