# The ethics of food stamps (AITA?) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 10, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457 "2024-12-10T20:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/402 "2025-11-07T15:24:29Z")
See [this](https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/broad-based-categorical-eligibility) from the USDA (which I posted previously) . States can have different income and asset limits for those SNAP recipients who qualify under broad-based categorical eligibility. Only about 45 states participate in BBCE. [Here’s](https://hungersolutionsny.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Expanded-Cat-Eligibility-Desk-Guide-9_11_25.pdf) a guide for NYS - the only people who have to meet the asset test are households with someone who is disqualified from SNAP or households with senior or disabled member with an income exceeding 200% of the Federal poverty level. I don’t know when/where you were receiving SNAP but BBCE has changed over the years, to the point where access to a hotline or a brochure is now enough to establish categorical eligibility. Also from the [USDA](https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligibility/BBCE-questions-answers) > As explained in previous memos, there are three types of categorical eligibility. _Broad-based categorical eligibility_ refers to the policy that makes most, if not all, households categorically eligible for SNAP because they receive non-cash TANF/MOE funded benefit or service, such as an informational pamphlet or 800-number. _Narrow categorical eligibility_ describes the policy that makes a smaller number of households categorically eligible for SNAP because they receive a TANF/MOE funded benefit such as child care or counseling. Both narrow and broad-based categorical eligibility are non-cash categorical eligibility. _Traditional categorical eligibility_ refers to the mandatory policy that makes households categorically eligible for SNAP because the household receives TANF, SSI, or general assistance cash benefits. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/403 "2025-11-07T21:46:35Z")
Yeah, that’s wonderful - IF anyone in the household receives those benefits. As it happened the only thing my spouse and I ever qualified for was just SNAP. Nothing else. Most people falling from the middle class into poverty won’t have any of those other benefits prior to applying for SNAP. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/404 "2025-11-08T01:16:04Z")
I think you missed the part about > categorically eligible for SNAP because they receive non-cash TANF/MOE funded benefit or service, such as an informational pamphlet or 800-number Being given a pamphlet or phone number when a person applies for SNAP is enough. Your state may not have adopted those rules - but in the states that did, few people have to meet the assets test. They will still have to meet the gross income test. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/405 "2025-11-12T00:09:00Z")
I had to look up BBCE. Okay, I knew what it was, but hadn’t seen the acronym before. Medicaid spend-down, where recipients have to pay a monthly deductible, appears to be on the same concept. Most of the people I saw who used it were seniors who were income-eligible, but owned too much property (usually their paid-off house) to get straight Medicaid. The lowest deductible I saw was something like $14, and the largest one was over $1,000 a month. [https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/broad-based-categorical-eligibility](https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/broad-based-categorical-eligibility) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457.md?page=20)