States may seek temporary waivers from this time limit for areas with high unemployment, where qualifying jobs are scarce. Most unemployed childless adults are limited to three months of benefits, unless they are working at least 20 hours per week or participating in a qualifying workfare or job training program. Undocumented immigrants also are ineligible for SNAP. Some categories of people are not eligible for SNAP regardless of how small their income or assets may be, such as strikers, most college students, and certain legal immigrants. The SNAP benefit formula targets benefits according to need: very poor households receive larger benefits than households closer to the poverty line since they need more help affording an adequate diet.
![food stamp office food stamp office](https://i1.wp.com/foodstampsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Food-Stamps-Office.jpg)
Unlike most means-tested benefit programs, which are restricted to particular categories of low-income individuals, SNAP is broadly available to households with low incomes.
#Food stamp office full
The federal government pays the full cost of SNAP benefits and splits the cost of administering the program with the states, which operate the program. After unemployment insurance, it is the most responsive federal program providing additional assistance during economic downturns. More than two-thirds of SNAP participants are in families with children a third are in households with seniors or people with disabilities. SNAP provides important nutritional support for low-wage working families, low-income seniors and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes, and other individuals and households with low incomes.