Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a United States government plan to help low-income households buy more and better food than they normally could afford. The program serves people receiving welfare aid and others with low incomes. SNAP was formerly known as the Food Stamp Program.
Persons apply to join the program at area welfare or public assistance offices. For a household to be eligible, it must have an income below a specified level. Its members must live together and buy food together. With certain exceptions, each adult member who is unemployed and able to work must register with the state employment service and try to find a job.
Traditionally, each participating household received a certain number of food stamp coupons, depending on the household’s income and size. Participants used the coupons to purchase food, and grocers redeemed the coupons through banks. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, many states began issuing electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards instead of traditional food stamp coupons. Participating households use the EBT cards, which resemble credit cards, to make their food purchases. Funds are then electronically transferred to the grocer from a special account established for each family. By 2004, the EBT cards had fully replaced traditional food stamp coupons.
The program was established by the Food Stamp Act of 1964. It is administered by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture through state and local welfare and public assistance agencies. In 2008, Congress passed a measure changing the program’s name from the Food Stamp Program to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
See also Welfare .
