Gabby Stewart found herself under the poverty line when her job with AmeriCorps was not paying her enough to adequately afford her meals.
“I had to fill out a long form, which struck me as a little bit complicated,” Steward said. “Since I was one person, it was easier to do. I can see how it would be more complicated if you weren't in my position.”
After completing the lengthy application for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—formerly known as food stamps—Stewart found the benefits to be very helpful.
“I have a full-time job that pays a volunteer stipend, so that extra $192 a month for food is huge for me,” Stewart said. “Especially because where I live food is super expensive, so I am super grateful to have it.”
While Stewart’s SNAP stipend is enough to help her fully afford food for the month, the same may not be said for a family with dependents.
“One of the major issues with the benefit is that it's simply not adequate,” said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, a non-profit that works to move Texans out of food insecurity. “It's not enough to help a family of four get a truly nutritious diet. You can tell people what they should eat, but if they don't have the resources to go out and purchase that diet consistently, it's going to affect their health.”
Not only is the monetary assistance from SNAP often too little for families, but many families who are eligible for SNAP aren’t registered the benefits. According to a report from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, there are roughly 3.5 million Texans who utilize SNAP benefits, while the number of Texans who are eligible to receive these benefits is roughly 4.4 million, according to the United States Census Bureau.
“When kids go hungry, it costs us a lot more in the long run,” Cole said. “Hungry people are more expensive to educate and care for. We know hunger leads to decreased economic productivity and undermines our economic competitiveness as a state”
While SNAP helps people during times of need, the amount an individual receives depends on a number of factors, some of which are deterring people from applying for the benefits.
“It is a very targeted benefit. It is based on your income, your assets, how many people are in your family, what you pay in housing, your expenses.” Cole said. “And so as you near the income cut off, your benefits go down.”
Mindy Vasquez, the social services team lead for the Central Texas Food Bank, points out that many questions about having a job and your ability to work also come into play.
“If someone applies when they're unemployed, then they are given three months to get connected with the Texas Workforce Commission and start the process of job assistance,” Vasquez said, “Within those three months, they should be looking for a job. Whether it’s part time, 20 hrs a week at minimum wage, you can continue to get benefits as long as you show proof that you are now working.”
The point of this, Vasquez explains, is so individuals can stay on benefits while getting help in finding a full time job where they can pay all their bills. Beyond meeting the qualifications, there can be misunderstandings around SNAP benefits that may be preventing certain individuals from receiving them.
“A lot of people who don't participate think its a program that you can only access if you're living in deep poverty or unemployed,” Cole said, “In fact, it is a program that is available to people with incomes up to 1/3 the poverty level.”
Alongside misunderstanding the qualifications to receive SNAP benefits, Vasquez believes the lack of outreach also contributes to low turnout numbers.
“I think people have to seek it out on their own. If you notice, there aren't any commercials on food stamps, like how to access them, how to use the online portal,” Vasquez said, “There's nothing out there other than just look it up on the web. It's usually through Google or word of mouth, but I don't see anything advertised as far as 'do you need food stamps'.”
Kathy Green, Sr., director advocacy and public policy for Central Texas Food Bank, details how some of the qualifications on the application can harm people in the long run.
“They have limits to what you can qualify for based on what assets you have in the bank. That actually works against people because if they look and see, ‘oh you've got $5,000 in your savings account,’ that can count against you,” Green said. “When we are trying to get people back in the workforce and trying to get people to make responsible financial decisions, like saving money...We shouldn't have that working against them.”
Green would also like to see the application process become easier to reach a larger population.
“I would like to see it more streamlined and easier for people to get people on the program,” Green said. “It is one of the programs that has been proven to pull people out of poverty, it has been one of the most successful programs we've had. The more people we can connect to the program, the better.”
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