The Food Stamp Program
Suggestions for Advocacy
Participation
in the Program has fallen 25 percent over the past
five years. Some of the decline is due to difficulties
that working families encounter when they apply. Contact
the PA Department of Public Welfare if your county’s
assistance office does not have evening hours or telephone
eligibility interviews for applicants who are employed
during usual office hours.
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The Food Stamp Program is the foundation of the
public food security effort. It provides grocery debit cards to
households whose net incomes – after various deductions – are
near or below the poverty line. In 2001 approximately 760,000
Pennsylvanians participated. The program is built on a concept
called the Thrifty Food Plan, which assumes that each member of
a household requires about $3.75 a day for food in order to maintain
a healthy and nutritious diet. The program further assumes that
30 percent of a household’s net income is available for food.
Thus, it provides the difference between the cost of the Thrifty
Food Plan and 30 percent of net household income. The value of
the average benefit amount issued per person in Pennsylvania is
about $75 per month ($2.47 a day or 82 cents a meal).
Just over half of food stamp participants are
children, and the program contributes significantly to their health.
The frequency of iron deficiency, the most common nutritional
deficiency in the United States, drops among families that participate,
as do deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, Vitamin B12 and zinc.
The program makes a significant economic contribution to nearly
every Pennsylvania community. During the past year in Pennsylvania
about $700 million in groceries were purchased with program funds.
In counties such as Beaver, Bucks, Cambria and Lancaster, the
program adds nearly $10 million a year to the local economy.
Who can provide the service?
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) is responsible
for the Food Stamp Program. County assistance offices handle daily
operations.
How is it financed?
The program is funded by the federal government and administered
by the PA Department of Public Welfare (DPW). The state pays half
of the administrative costs.
Who can receive the service?
Eligibility depends on the income of the household.
Households (the elderly and disabled excepted) must have gross
incomes below 130 percent of poverty. Program benefits are based
on net income. A variety of deductions are allowed, including
a standard deduction of $134 a month, 20 percent of earned income,
child care costs, some shelter costs, the costs of paying child
support, and - for the elderly or disabled - the costs of medical
care that exceed $35 a month. A single parent with two children,
a 40 hour-per-week job paying $8 an hour, child care costs of
$120 a month, shelter costs of $500 a month (including utilities
and taxes) and a telephone would qualify for about $179 a month.
A single adult age 60 or over with $650 in monthly
income, unreimbursed medical costs of $85 monthly, shelter costs
of $400 a month (including utilities and taxes) and a telephone
would qualify for about $100 a month. Eligibility also depends
on household resources. To be eligible, the household can not
have countable resources exceeding $2000 ($3000 if disabled or
elderly). One vehicle per household is excluded; also, vehicles
used to make a living or to transport a disabled person are not
counted. For most other vehicles the first $4,650 in the fair
market value is excluded.
What is provided?
Each head-of-household receives a
debit card, a private I.D. number, and an electronic account.
The account is credited monthly with the
benefit amount. The debit card can be used to pay for groceries
at any store that accepts them.
Contact:
To apply, contact your local county
assistance office. For free food stamp screening, call Hunger
Action at 1-800-634-2033. For other matters, contact the Pennsylvania
DPW Hotline at 1-800-692-7462.
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