FNS Documents & Resources

Broad-based categorical eligibility is a policy that makes most households categorically eligible for SNAP because they qualify for a non-cash TANF or state maintenance of effort funded benefit.

This session will feature three states discussing where they’re at now, how they got there, and where they’re going. 

SNAP helps low-income people buy the food they need for good health. SNAP benefits are not cash. SNAP benefits are provided on an electronic card that is used like an ATM or bank card to buy food at most grocery stores. To get SNAP benefits, your income and other resources have to be under certain limits.

1939 – The First Food Stamp Program

FNS is issuing this memorandum in an effort to clarify the characteristics of BBCE programs and the actions states must take to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.

This report is the latest in a series of annual reports presenting information on estimated national SNAP participation rates among people eligible for benefits under federal income and asset rules.

This annual report provides details on the demographic characteristics and economic circumstances of SNAP households at both the national and state level. In 2013, most participants were children or elderly - 44 percent of participants were under age 18 and 9 percent were age 60 or older. 

This report is the latest in a series of annual reports presenting information on national participation rates among people eligible for program benefits.  In 2012, SNAP served 83 percent of all eligible individuals, and the program provided 96 percent of the benefits that all eligible individuals could receive.

The attached questions and answers are intended to address state agency concerns about the effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on SNAP. 

Questions and Answers for the 2008 Farm Bill