Support > Benefits and Entitlements

Food Stamps and Other Food Programs

The purpose of the Food Stamp Program is to end hunger and improve nutrition and health. It helps low-income households buy the food they need for a nutritionally adequate diet. The Program is operated by state and local welfare offices; the Federal Government oversees the state operation of the Program.

Other food programs for which you may be eligible are listed at the bottom of this page.

Is It For Me?

You and/or your household must meet eligibility requirements and provide information about you and/or your household circumstances. U.S. citizens and some aliens who are admitted for permanent residency may qualify. To participate in the Food Stamp Program:

• Generally, your household can’t have more than $2,000 in “resources”. But, if your household includes a person 60 or older, the limit is $3,000. “Resources” include cash, bank accounts and other property. Certain resources are not counted, such as a home and lot. There are special rules used to determine the resource value of vehicles owned by you or your household members.
• Most able-bodied people between the ages of 18 and 60 must register for work. Many people may be required to participate in an employment and training program.
• You and/or your household must provide a Social Security number or apply for one.

You and/or your household must meet income tests unless all of you are receiving State cash assistance (TANF) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). If you have a psychiatric disability or any other disability and receive Supplemental Security Income, you are eligible for Food Stamps and can apply for them at your local Social Security office.

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.

These are the allowable deductions:

• A 20 percent deduction from earned income
• A standard deduction of $134 for all households
• A dependent care deduction when needed for work, training, or education--but not more than $200 for each child under age 2 and not more than $175 for each other dependent
• Medical expenses for elderly or disabled members which are more than $35 for the month if they are not paid by insurance or someone else
• Legally owed child support payments
• Excess shelter costs which are more than half of the household's income after the other deductions. Allowable costs include the cost of fuel to heat and cook with, electricity, water, the basic fee for one telephone, rent or mortgage payments and taxes on the home. The amount of the shelter deduction cannot be more than $431 unless one person in the household is elderly or disabled.

Households, with the exceptions listed above, that have income over the amounts listed below, cannot get food stamps.

Updated October 1, 2007, effective through September 30, 2008:

Westchester County has some special provisions for non-citizen eligibility. Under the New York State Welfare Reform Act of 1997 counties were given the opportunity to participate in a state and locally funded food stamp program, which is geared toward providing benefits to certain legal resident non-citizens who were disqualified from receiving food stamps under the federal program. Westchester County has chosen to participate in the jointly funded program, which is known as the Food Assistance Program (FAP). In order to qualify for benefits under FAP, applicants must meet all of the following conditions of eligibility:

• Must be lawfully residing in the U.S. on August 22, 1996
• Must otherwise be eligible to receive federal food stamps
• Must be residing in Westchester at the time of application
• Cannot be absent from the United States for more than 90 days during the past 12 months
• Must have been born between 8/23/31 and 8/22/36

To see if you might be eligible for food stamp benefits, visit the pre-screening tool at http://www.foodstamps-step1.usda.gov.

What Are the Benefits?

You and your household can use food stamps to buy any food or food product as well as seeds and plants for use in a home garden to produce food.

In Westchester County when a person eligible for food stamps is in the offices of either the Department of Social Services or Social Security, their Medicaid card is imprinted with a code that is valid until their next Food Stamp Review Date. Each month the person takes the Medicaid card to a participating supermarket or check cashing store and keys in their code numbers, which is usually the last four digits of their Social Security number. The store clerk then issues them a month’s worth of food coupons.

You cannot use food stamps to buy:

• Alcoholic beverages and tobacco
• Foods to be eaten in a store
• Vitamins or medicines
• Pet foods
• Any non-food items

Restaurants can be authorized to accept food stamps from qualified homeless, elderly or disabled people for low-cost meals.

Food stamps cannot be exchanged for cash.

The amount of monthly food stamps you receive depends on the size of your household and the net income of you or your household. The following chart outlines what would be the maximum allotment (assumes no countable income) for each household size. Note that most people get much less than the “Maximum Allotment Level”.

These allotment levels will be in effect from October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008. If you or your family have income, you would subtract 30 percent of your monthly income from these monthly allotments:

When Do the Benefits/Entitlements Apply?

Although it may take up to 30 days from the date you apply for you to receive food stamps, if you and/or your household are eligible, you will receive food stamps retroactively from the date you initially filed an application at your local Department of Social Services (DSS) office. It is possible for you and your household to receive the food stamps within 5 days of the application if your household is homeless or your household income is very low.

Once you and/or your household have become eligible, you have to go through an eligibility determination on a yearly basis. At the end of 12 months, you have to go back to your DSS office for a re-certification interview in order to document if there were any changes in you or your household’s income, expenses and household size that may affect your eligibility for food stamps. If you and/or your household have earned income, you are scheduled for a re-certification interview every 6 months and are required to report wage information on a quarterly basis. Additionally, if you or any member of your household is deemed capable of working, then the household member may be required to participate in a Food Stamp Employment and Training Program as a condition of continued eligibility.

How Do I Apply For the Benefit?

Application for benefits may be made in person at a local DSS Service Center serving your municipality. If you or another household member is unable to appear for a face-to-face interview, a friend or a relative may apply for food stamps on you or your household’s behalf. Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI) recipients may apply by mail or in person at a local Social Security office. Please click here for the address of your local social security office.

Below are the addresses for Westchester County’s DSS Service Centers:

Mount Vernon Center
100 East First Street
Mount Vernon, NY 10550-3442
914-813-6000

Peekskill Center
750 Washington Street
Peekskill, NY 10566-5499
914-862-5000

White Plains Center
85 Court Street
White Plains, NY 10601-4201
914-995-5840

Yonkers Center
137 Alexander Street
Yonkers, NY 10701-2539
914-231-2000

Normal business hours in the four centers are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday, except holidays. Emergency needs after 5:00 PM and on weekends and holidays are handled by an Emergency Services team located in the White Plains Center. Additionally the United States Department of Agriculture operates a toll-free number 800-221-5689 for people to receive information about the Food Stamp Program.

Call your DSS Service Center to set up a meeting with a worker. The worker will need to see the following:

• Some identification that shows your name and address
• Proof of earnings or other income, such as Social Security or SSI benefits, or a pension, for each member of your household
• Proof of how much you spend for child care
• Rent receipts or proof of your mortgage payments
• Records of your utility costs
• Medical bills for those members of your household age 60 or over and for those getting Social Security or SSI benefits because they are disabled

Is There a Cost to Me?

There is no cost to apply for food stamps.

Who Provides the Benefit or Entitlement?

The Food Stamp Program is a federal entitlement administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is operated by state and local DSS offices, and the Federal Government oversees the state operation of the Program.

Are There Other Food Programs Available To Me?

WIC is administered by the Department of Agriculture through the state health departments. Eligibility is based on income and nutritional risk as determined by a health professional. For further information on the WIC program, log on to the Westchester County Department of Health web site at:
http://www.westchestergov.com/health/WIC.htm.

The Nutrition Program For The Elderly (NPE)
NPE is a food program designed to assist older people. It is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services through the state agencies on aging.

If you are age 60 or older, you are eligible for the program and so is your spouse, even if he or she isn't 60 years old. Age is the only factor used to decide if you are eligible. You do not have to meet any income limits to receive meals under the program.

Neighborhood centers for the elderly serve well-balanced, hot or cold meals at least once a day, five days a week. When possible, transportation is offered to and from the sites for those who need it. Home-delivered meals, usually called “Meals on Wheels,” are provided to elderly people who are homebound.

For more information about this program, contact the Westchester County Office on Aging at 914-813-6300, or ask your Social Security representative. Please click here for the address of your local social security office.

Other Food Programs Administered by the Department of Agriculture.

Several Food Distribution Programs distribute commodities to individual needy households or to organizations that provide meal service to low-income people, including soup kitchens, churches and homeless shelters.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program offers meals and snacks to children in eligible day care centers, family day care homes and other care centers as well as to functionally impaired adults and elderly persons in day care situations.

The School Lunch and Breakfast Programs offer meals at school to children. Low-income children receive these meals free or at a reduced price, while other children have access to reasonably priced meals.

The Summer Food Service Program offers free meals and snacks to needy children during the months when school is not in session.

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