Ask the Person on Food Stamps

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m really hoping this doesn’t turn into a bad idea…

After two years of financial struggle where my employment has been intermittent, temporary, and low pay my savings are now exhausted. My prospects for employment from December through March look even more thin than they were this summer. After much soul-searching, and looking at program qualifications, I applied for food stamps on December 1, 2009. It has been for the most part a good thing, although the actual operation of the program was a bit more complicated in some aspects than I anticipated.

Well, that sets the stage. Anyone else on or who has been on food stamps (which is now the “EBT benefit”) feel free to contribute as well. No mud-slinging or personal attacks - this is about being on the program, not how people came to be on it.

Any questions?

2

I just started a thread about this, about my niece’s eligibility.

So, you use the EBT card. I used to work at a store that had that function, but there were complications in the computer program. So:

  1. Do you use self help lanes at the supermarket, and does the card work there, or do you need a live clerk to take care of that?

  2. Did the caseworker look like he was more in need of help than you?

  3. Did they ask you questions about why you weren’t working? If so, were they jerks, or neutral?

Thanks,
hh

3

So what model Cadillac do you drive? (I keed, I keed! I think “Welfare Cadillac” is an incredibly offensive song.)

But along those lines, I’m sure that attitude exists. Have you been subjected to disapproval – either subtle or outright?

How does it work? When you’re checking out at the store, do you just swipe your card through the EBT reader and it applies your EBT allotment against your total of eligible purchases?

I know EBT benefits can’t be used for tobacco and alcohol. Can you use it for any non-food items, like ibuprofen or tampons or aluminum foil?

Has your EBT benefit affected the way you plan meals, buy groceries, etc.?

What does EBT stand for, anyway?

4

I shop for food at three places on a regular basis. One is the local butcher shop, which has comparable prices to the supermarket but lets me buy as small a portion as I want without any hassle. Another store is Aldi’s. Another store is Meijer’s Of those three, two have no self-help lanes, only Meijer’s does. And Meijer’s self-help lanes do take EBT cards. So, for my shopping habits, where there is a self-help lane I can use my benefit card there with no problem. I usually go to the live clerk lane, though, because I tend to shop infrequently and thus have a fairly large amount of stuff, more then they really want you to take through self-help.

It wouldn’t surprise me if there is considerable variation in whether or not self-help lanes take EBT or not these days.

Nope.

Actually, I am working, I just don’t have enough work. My case worker at the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA a.k.a. “welfare office”) was very decent about the whole thing, and very helpful at instructing me as to what documentation was necessary to get full credit both for my work (I’m self-employed at present, it complicates things - I’d much rather be on payroll but when I couldn’t get such a position I did what I had to do and could do) and for my husband’s disability application.

While we were assembling that, I had to go to the IMPACT program (I forget what the acronym stands for exactly and don’t feel like looking it up at the moment). THOSE gals were a bit on the jerk side, but I quickly figured out that their attitude had a lot to do with the average person they were dealing with, many of whom are dysfunctional. Of course they were skeptical when I said I shouldn’t be in their program. But I stayed polite to everyone and followed the rules/program while I was in it no matter how much of a pain in the ass it was. When I was able to get my program status officially changed and no longer had to go to their program they were quite pleasant, as clearly I was on the level. Also, like I said, I’d been quite pleasant to them, funny how that works.

Work is very thin right now. However, any day I am not working for money I am looking for paying work, starting at nine and ending 4:30 or 5 (with time for a good, nutritious lunch). The only exception is that I took the last few days of this week of for the holidays. Starting Monday it’s back to work (either doing it or looking for it). The biggest frustration with IMPACT is that some of what I do to get work, such as phoning potential customers, or following up on jobs I get as a contractor, they don’t accept as “looking for work” even though that is what has gotten me most of the work I’ve had over the past two years. It is very oriented towards getting a payroll job and not at all towards the self-employed. I didn’t argue, though, I just had to make sure I did enough “regular job search” to meet their requirements, document it properly, and attend their required meetings (again, not oriented towards me - most of it was about childcare and geared towards young single mothers. I am middle-aged and childless). I have several days of work with one customer scheduled for next week, and more with another the first week of January.

All of which is getting a little off track.

I was asked how I was paying my bills, which information I provided as requested. This was figured into how much a month we receive in food stamps.

5

Threads such as “ask the …” belong in MPSIMS. Moved from GQ.

samclem. Moderator, General Questions

6

What kind of program is this? Budgeting? Nutrition?

7

:stuck_out_tongue:

Since some of us on “welfare” these days were, only a short time ago, middle class or better it is entire conceivable that someone could own a Caddy and legitimately be on public aid. However, I am not one of them.

I have a 7 year old Toyota Echo and an 11 year old Ford Ranger pickup, both paid for years ago. I use the truck for hauling ladders and lawn mowers and such for gainful employment, although at the moment it has a broken torsion rod and damaged tie rods and I don’t know how I’m going to fix that yet. I’ve gotten an estimate from a mechanic I trust and might be able to work out some barter for labor if I can find a way to pay for the parts, however, it is unsafe even to drive out of the driveway at this point, I will have to have it towed. Since I’m not mowing lawns during the winter I have some time to work on this problem. The car, at least for now, is functioning well.

Oh, yes - I have been criticized for having a leather coat, for example. Nevermind that my husband bought me that coat 10 years ago when we were well off and I’ve taken care of it. I’ve been blasted for having a computer at home (again, paid for years ago), internet access at home (there are examples of that on this very forum), and so on and so forth. This ties into the assumption that the only people on welfare are the generational welfare and that middle class people don’t wind up in the safety net. We do, obviously. I still retain resources and assets I purchased back when I was solidly in the middle class.

I was required to document certain types of assets when I applied for the benefit. Some things count in assessing your current ability to support yourself, some don’t. Among other things, I had to bring in proof of ownership of my vehicles which of course revealed what they were and their value.

Yep. And it’s the same reader all the other debit/credit cards go through.

I pile everything into the cart just like before. The cashier (or me, in a self-help lane) runs everything through. I swipe my EBT card and the amount of eligible items is deducted from my food stamp (SNAP) account. Anything left over I pay for with my usual card, or a check, or cash. Very easy, eliminates guess work over what is eligible, and keeps nosy busy-bodies from realizing I’m on food stamps and giving them an opportunity to criticize my purchases.

Nope. Food and only food.

Some people receive TANF, which is cash assistance, which is another account on the same card. If you do see someone use an EBT card to pay for any non-food item they’re using their TANF account, not their SNAP (which is the food part).

My household does not qualify for TANF, we only get SNAP. My employment (such as it is) has to pay for all other things other than food.

Yes.

We qualified for $367/month for two people. This is, in fact, a more generous benefit than I expected. In part, it’s because SNAP benefits were increased this year by the Obama administration. It is also because my husband is disabled, which allows for a slightly higher benefit level. Prior to getting this, I was budgeting only $280/month for food for us. The result is we actually have a higher food budget than before (keep in mind, I had a large garden this summer, I have a freezer full of home-grown vegetables which does help keep costs down).

So… now, when I bake muffins I can afford to add nuts to them. Instead of buying the cheapest fruit available I can buy a variety. Instead of a 3 pound bag of apples last time I went shopping I skipped the apples (a little tired of them) and bought two grapefruit, a pomegranate, several bananas, and a starfruit. I bought radishes to go with the salad lettuce. I did indulge in a 4 ounce piece of smoked salmon, outrageous, I know (I love smoked salmon). I restocked the pantry (this summer, when I actually had some surplus, I bought a stash of canned goods, which we’ve slowly been eating our way through). We’ll be buying brown rice again instead of just white (which is cheap but not as nutritious). I bought some bacon - we haven’t had bacon for about seven months. I did buy some snack food like chips and pretzels. I still haven’t used all our money for the month.

So, for us, it has resulted a more varied and probably better diet. On the other hand, we’re adults heading into middle age. If I was trying to feed, say, an 18 year old active man/boy it might be a lot harder to stretch the budget. Also, I have a fully equipped kitchen and I know how to cook from scratch. And, due to sparser than I’d like employment, I have the time to cook from scratch. When work picks up again I will likely be buying some convenience foods which cost more, but then I’ll have some money coming in that could supplement the food stamps. I do have to report an uptick in income, so that could also result in a reduction of food benefits if I start earning significantly more.

EBT = Electronic Benefit Transfer

SNAP = Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

TANF = Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

8

When you use your EBT card at any store do they charge you a user / transaction fee for the service?

9

Work

When you’re on the program you either have to document a certain amount of job searching or actually do a certain amount of work per week, 20-35 hours depending on circumstances (it’s a bit complex, and I don’t fully understand their formulas). So, if you aren’t employed you need to document, say, 25 hours of looking for work a week. This includes filling out applications, interviews, and attending IMPACT required workshops. If you get, say, 10 hours of work then you have your 10 hours of work and you’ll need 15 hours of additional job searching. If you get 30 hours of work a week, congratulations, your job fulfills your requirement.

If, after 5 weeks, you have not secured employment they will enroll you in a community work program of some sort, I’m not clear on the details. Basically, you’ll do work that is subsidized by the state in exchange for your benefits.

Education also counts. When I was there I met a woman who was enrolled in nursing school. Provided she attended classes and kept her grades up her schooling counted towards her required quota of hours.

Basically, the whole point is to get people working. Able-bodied adults must work under this program. If they don’t ALL benefits are cut off.

If one member of a family fails to comply everyone in the family is cut off, even if everyone else is fully compliant.

Now, there are people who are exempt from this requirement. Among them the elderly, the disabled, and parents caring for infants or disabled family members. Also, people working a certain number of hours per week are exempt. In our case, my husband’s disability exempted him, and between caring for him AND my average amount of work per week over the year (my work is variable, some weeks nothing, some weeks over 40 hours) we are exempt. The main problem was I had to document everything to the satisfaction of the state, which took me a week and a half, during which I was not only chasing documents but also having to comply with IMPACT. It was a hell of a week.

So far as I know there is no nutritional counseling for people on SNAP. It could be I wasn’t in that part of the system long enough to encounter it. I don’t know if there was budgeting education or not, again probably for similar reasons. However, from talking with the caseworkers I suspect that it is available.

The woman I spoke with most often at IMPACT in a one-on-one situation was … politely probing. I was asked about what obstacles there might be to employment, including problems with other family members, transportation issues, and so forth. There seemed to be a genuine focus on solving any problems standing in the way of self-sufficiency. For example, I was asked about the condition of my vehicles. Apparently there is some money available for limited repairs and maintenance in order to maintain a client’s ability to seek and keep work. I was going to ask if I could get help fixing my truck, however, since I am no longer in IMPACT I no longer have access to help from that source. Other people might get subsidized bus fare (we had one person with a seizure disorder who wasn’t allowed to drive, for example). Most of this sort of counseling was private, but I did overhear other clients discussing how to enroll in GED or college level courses. There was a LOT of emphasis on childcare, including one woman seeking certification as a childcare provider who was being advised how to set it up as a well organized business. As it happens, my major obstacle was obtaining proper documentation. They were quite helpful in telling me what exactly was required and where to get it.

Back when I worked for the Census earlier this year 2 or 3 people on my work crew were on IMPACT at that point, so this wasn’t my first encounter with the program, just the first time I was on it. From my viewpoint, I don’t find it unreasonable to comply with such requirements in exchange for the state paying for my food even if some of the requirements can be a pain in the ass.

10

No.

At least, not so far. I am still learning the system. I’m not sure if there’s a limit to how many times I can tap the account in a month. If there is, I haven’t reached it yet.

Basically, I can only access the SNAP money by buying food. The TANF account, which case be accessed by ATM as well as by purchase, might well have different rules. As I said, though, I don’t have a TANF benefit so I can’t tell you any more about it.

11

I have a couple of questions: when you say you have to document, say, 25 hours of looking for work a week, could you clarify what that means? How do you spend 25 hours a week looking for work, and how would you document it? Does that mean you have to apply at various offices and fill out applications for 5 hours every day? That sounds like a part-time job in itself, only with no pay!

My second question is, are you allowed to have any money in the bank, or a CD, or do you have to have nothing in savings at all before you can get food stamps?

12

Education also counts. When I was there I met a woman who was enrolled in nursing school. Provided she attended classes and kept her grades up her schooling counted towards her required quota of hours.

Does this also apply to people enrolled in online schools? Naturally, I mean accredited online schools, not some diploma mill handing out “degrees” in Hypnotism.

ETA:

Errr…wait. Now that I think about it, I’m sure many people on programs like these might not be able to afford a computer or Internet connection. In other words: I’m an idiot.

13

When I looked into going on food stamps (back in the days when the things were actually bits of paper), seeds for growing food were also eligible. Since you garden anyway, that might be something to keep in mind.

14

What about health insurance, do you get some sort of help with that?
(I dont know the american system)
It sounds like a tough time for you, good luck.

15

Yes. Basically you need to fill out applications an average of five hours per day. Yes, it’s basically turning looking for work into a part time job. Your “pay” is the benefits you receive from the government.

You need to record the name of the company, your contact there, and how long you spent filling out an app or interviewing. If you’re applying on line (which is more and more getting to be the case) you need to print out the “thank you for submitting your application” most sites give you.

You are allowed up to $2,000 in cash or equivalent, or $3,000 with a disabled family member. You are, after all, expected to pay rent, bills, purchase non-food items, etc. So a CD would count, but not most retirement plans since you can’t easily get to the money. The eligibility requirements are here

16

Education has to be at an accredited school, whether bricks and mortar or on line.

Correct (about computers, not that you’re an idiot :slight_smile: ). The IMPACT office I went to had two rooms with a half dozen computers in each, printers, and phones their clients could use in job searches. There are other sites in the county, such as the unemployment office and the public library branches, where this could also be done (although the library does charge for printing items). Some of the people there were coming in despite having an internet connection at home because their living situation was overcrowded/disruptive and the IMPACT office was a place to look for work in a quiet, undisturbed room.

Others, like myself, have computers and internet at home, usually purchased in better times (the computer is the big cost, not so much the internet).

17

Yes, that was mentioned as part of what is covered (interesting trivia: in rural Alaska it also covers the purchase of some types of hunting equipment). As it happens, I still have a stash of seeds from last year which should still be good, but it certainly makes contemplating expanding the variety of stuff in the garden easier.

If you’re clever you can actually get some extra mileage from the benefit by, for example, using vinegar and baking soda as cleaning agents. However, judging by the folks I met during my visits to various offices, most of them are unaware of that sort of thing. I run a frugal and efficient household even in good times, such skills still serve me well now. Part of some peoples’ problems is a sort of institutional ignorance in the family, where they aren’t aware of some solutions to their problems, nor aware of how to find out information. Sad, really.

Over a year ago I got into a program called the Healthy Indiana Plan, limited to residents of my state, which subsidizes the purchase of insurance for those with low incomes, so we’re covered. It’s not the greatest insurance, but it does cover my husband’s needs - without insurance, his medical costs exceed the amount we pay for housing. When I went to apply for food stamps some of the process was shortened because we were already in the FSSA computers due to being in that program.

Thank you, it has been a difficult few years. Even so, for people on welfare we’re the “rich” ones, having some assets that others don’t, no debt, and some education.

18

If you have money left over at the end of the month, does it roll over or does your account reset to zero at the beginning of each month?

19

It rolls over.

20

I take it that your vehicles do not count toward the $2000 maximum assets you’re allowed to have? What else does not count? If someone owns their home (or has a mortgage), does that count?