Income:
Households must meet income tests unless all members are receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or in some places general assistance (Safety Net in New York).

Most households must meet both the gross and net income tests, but a household with an elderly person or a person who is receiving certain types of disability payments only has to meet the net income test. Gross income means a household's total, non-excluded income, before any deductions have been made. Net income means gross income minus allowable deductions.

Listed below are maximum and gross income limits for different size households in 2006.

Updated October 2006, effective through September 2007

The term household does not always mean the people who live together in one house, apartment, or other living situation. Rather, a household may be more accurately thought of as a “food unit,” composed of the individuals who customarily purchase food and prepare meals together for home consumption. A Food Stamp household may be a person who lives alone, a person living with others but who buys and prepares food separately from the others, or a group of people who live together and buy and prepare food together.

Deductions: The following deductions are allowed for all households:

• 20 percent of earned income;

• Standard deduction ($134);

• Actual costs of dependent care up to maximum of $200 per month per dependent under two years of age and $175 per month per dependent for all other dependents. Dependent care includes care for children and disabled adults if this care is needed so that a household member can work, look for a job, or get training or education leading to a job.);

• Legally owed child-support payments;

• Heating and/or air conditioning expenses;

• Shelter expenses that are more than half of the applicant’s income up to a maximum of $400. (There is a dollar limit on the amount of shelter expenses that may be deducted unless there is an elderly or disabled member. If there is an elderly or disabled member, the dollar limit does not apply.); and

• Medical expenses over $35 a month for household members who are age 60 or older or receiving certain disability payments. Medical costs are deductible only if such costs are not covered by insurance, a government program, or some other source. *

For the following licensed vehicles, the fair market value over $4,650 is counted: one per adult household member, and any other vehicle a household member under 18 drives to work, school, job training, or to look for work.

Citizenship/ Legal Alien Status:
Many non-citizens are eligible for Food Stamps. These include: persons legally admitted for permanent residence who have lived in the country for 5 years; or are receiving disability-related assistance or benefits, regardless of entry date; or are children regardless of entry date. Certain refugees, Asylees, Cubans, Haitians and Amerasians also may be eligible for food stamps.

Other Eligibility Conditions:
Strikers:
Households with a person who is on strike because of a labor dispute are not eligible unless they were eligible the day before the strike and continue to be eligible at the time of application. Eligible households cannot get more Food Stamps just because the striking member is getting less income. This prohibition does not apply to persons involved in a labor dispute in which management has locked the workers out of the work site.

Students:
Students may be able to get food stamps if otherwise eligible and they:

• Take part in a state or federally financed work study program;

• Work at least 20 hours a week;

• Are taking care of a dependent household member under the age of 6;

• Are taking care of a dependent household member over the age of 5 but under 12 and do not have adequate child care to enable them to attend school and work a minimum of 20 hours, or to take part in a State or federally financed work study program; or

• Are assigned to or placed in a college or certain other schools through:

• A program under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998,

• A program under Section 236 of the Trade Act of 1974,

• An employment and training program under the Food Stamp Act, or

• An employment and training program operated by a State or local government.

Single Mothers:
A single parent enrolled full time in college and taking care of a dependent household member under the age of 12 can get Food Stamps if otherwise eligible.

Priority for the receipt of nutrition services is given to those who are in greatest economic or social need with particular attention to low-income, minority older adults.

Type:
Households can use Food Stamps to buy foods for the household to eat, such as: breads and cereals; fruits and vegetables; meats, fish and poultry; and dairy products; seeds and plants that produce food for the household to eat.

Food Stamp recipients using the EBT system apply for their benefits in the usual way, by filling out a form at their local Food Stamp office. Once eligibility and level of benefits have been determined, an account is established in the participant's name, and Food Stamp benefits are deposited electronically in the account each month. A plastic card, similar to a bank card is issued, and a personal identification number (PIN) is assigned or chosen by the recipient to give access to the account. Recipients are offered the opportunity to change the PIN number at any time and are offered ongoing training if they have any problems accessing the system.

Nearly 85 percent of Food Stamp benefits are currently being issued by EBT.

Expedited Service:
Expedited Food Stamps are Food Stamps that can be gotten quickly. To be eligible for Expedited Food Stamps, applicants must fall into one of the following categories:

• The household has $100 or less in liquid resources and less than $150 in gross monthly income. Liquid resources are available money, such as cash on hand, bank accounts, savings certificates, and lump-sum payments (tax refunds, retroactive lump-sum Social Security, SSI, or public assistance payments).

• A migrant or seasonal farm worker without money or resources.

• Together, the applicant’s monthly income and liquid resources are less than the total of his/her monthly rent or mortgage and heating costs and utilities (electricity, telephone, and water).

Applicants can usually get Expedited Food Stamps within a few days. If an applicant arrives at the local Department of Social Services (DSS) office by 8:30 a.m., he/she may be able to get them within 24 hours. However, the law permits DSS to take up to 7 days to issue Expedited Food Stamps. Persons who have no food should ask for an immediate referral to a food pantry.

Financing:
Funding for Food Stamps is overwhelmingly Federal, although the States and other jurisdictions have financial responsibility for half or more of the administrative costs, as well as liability for erroneous benefit determinations (as assessed under the Food Stamp "quality control'' system, discussed below).

Funds for Food Stamps are from Federal general revenues, 89% of which were derived from individual and corporate income taxes (2005).


Administration:
Food Stamps is administered by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which grants funds to the New York State Office of Family and Children's Services. At the local level Food Stamps is administered by county departments of social services. State Departments of Social Services (DSS) administer the program at the state level. County (or New York City) DSS's implement the program locally and are reimbursed by the State Department of Social Services for their costs.


Procedures for Appeal:
To challenge a denial of Food Stamps, applicants or recipients must ask for a Fair Hearing within 90 days. To request a Fair Hearing, they should notify the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability (OTDA) by telephone, fax, or mail. Applicants or recipients can write on the back of the denial notice the reason for requesting the Fair Hearing. If they request a Fair Hearing by telephone, they should get the name of the person they speak to. If they write to request a Fair Hearing, they send their letter by certified mail and keep a copy. The correct address, telephone number and fax numbers are: