It’s far from simple to qualify for food stamps, says Harvest Public Media in the first of a five-part series this week on SNAP. Most states allow people to apply online as well as by paper applications. For Iowa and Missouri, the printed form runs six pages, but it’s 17 pages in Kansas.
“The applications ask for things that would send any person digging through their files: Social Security numbers, bank account balances, value of stocks, bonds and retirement accounts, value of vehicles, monthly expenses, whether you’ve been convicted for trading food benefits, etc.,” says Harvest Media. The application is followed by an interview. A USDA website, headlined “10 steps to help fill your grocery bag,” says applicants may need to bring along forms of identification, such as a driver’s license or birth certificate, as well as pay stubs, utility bills, and paperwork that shows income and particular types of expenses such as child care or child support. “Ask … what you should bring,” says USDA.
Jim Brightman, an attorney for Legal Aid of Western Missouri, told Harvest Media that clients report it can take hours to get through to the state’s call center with a question about SNAP. “Brightman said the key issue is the layers of bureaucracy, because, ‘people are just, just naturally intimidated by this process.'”
Another obstacle is transportation. Public transportation is limited in rural areas so it can be difficult to get to a SNAP office or to a job in order to fulfill work requirements mandated for able-bodied people, said Harvest Media.
Once an application is filed, the USDA says that in most cases, local officials will decide within 30 days whether to issue benefits.