The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP had its amount reduced recently. The reason why it saw its amount made smaller was the fact that the emergency allotment from the pandemic was over last February. Remember that SNAP recipients got a larger check to cope with that difficult situation.
Many families could use that money to be able to cope with inflation and high prices in the USA. Just in Pennsylvania alone, there are approximately 1.8 million citizens that receive support from the Federal SNAP program. Children are the biggest group with about 667,153 beneficiaries. There are two other groups.
People with a disability that receive SNAP are 485,813 in total, according to the Department of Human Services in Pennsylvania. The third group is for adults and they are about 353,149. So, this food support is helping many people who need it fight hunger. Otherwise, they would suffer food insecurity indeed.
What is the maximum amount I could collect for SNAP in Pennsylvania?
The maximum amount you could collect for SNAP benefits is 740 dollars if you are a three-member family. However, if you live on your own the own will just be 281 dollars. So, it is important to know the people who are in the household to get SNAP checks and see the amount. If you are just 2, it will be 516 dollars in total.
The bigger the family, the larger the SNAP check. So, the amount keeps increasing if you are four in total in the household. In that case, it will be 939 dollars. Some people may believe that it is not enough for all the food they need, but it is not meant to buy everything. Thus it will help you pay part of the groceries only.
The amounts for five-, six- or seven-member families hit amounts over 1,000 dollars. For instance, $1,116 for 5, $1,339 for 6, or $1,480 for 7. Despite the fact that there are not many, there might be some eight-member families. For them, the amount is up to $1,691. Each additional member adds 211 dollars extra to the SNAP check.
What are the requirements to collect Food Stamps in Pennsylvania?
To collect SNAP benefits you usually need to meet work requirements. However, Pennsylvanians can enjoy a waiver until October 1, 2023. That means there are no work requirements now. Formerly, there were work requirements for those who were between the ages of 18 and 49. They had no children either.
Besides, they had to work, look for a job actively if they did not have one, or take part in a training program. If you did not meet any of those points, you could only get SNAP for 3 months. In order to obtain SNAP checks you must also earn up to a maximum. Therefore, they will also check your Gross and Net income.
The amount you could earn can be higher if you live with a person with a disability or an elderly person. If you already receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you will definitely qualify for SNAP. For a household size of 1, your GMI could be $1,473 and your NMI $1,133.
What if I do not know if I meet the requirements for SNAP in Pennsylvania?
According to the Department of Human Services in Pennsylvania, if you are unsure, you may still send your application. In this way, they will be able to tell you whether you can collect SNAP or not. So, there is no need to worry much about requirements. Mainly because they can check that for you through COMPASS.
COMPASS is a website to help Pennsylvanians apply for benefits. It is very simple to use and it will not take long either. Apart from SNAP, you can get some health support programs. Visiting your county assistant office is another possibility if you have no internet access. Face-to-face appointments are available too.
Download the Pennsylvania Application for benefits here. Then you can print it in order to fill it in. Once you have completed the form you can hand it in your local SNAP office. County Assistance Offices will be happy to help you to sort out this application process to get SNAP benefits as fast as possible. Do not worry if you cannot understand this process because they can do that for you. An authorized person can represent you and file it for you as well.