What Do You Need To Know?
The Louisiana Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps people with low-income households to get healthy and nutritious food to improve their health conditions. SNAP benefits are used in place of cash to buy food.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP ) provides benefits of more than $200 million to the poor and needy families and individual with a low household income across the country. The program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services. The Louisiana SNAP is administered by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Service. The SNAP program in Louisiana also provides poor families with employment training and workshops under the Louisiana Job Employment Training (LaJET) Program. The program also provides employment opportunities to a limited number of SNAP awardees in the state.
What Are The Program Objectives?
The main goal of the program is to make healthy and nutritious food accessible to the eligible families who are citizens of Louisiana State by financing their food expenses. This allows families to improve their standard of living.
Eligible families are provided with an electronic card known as the EBT card which they can use to purchase food from the retail stores that accept the EBT card. There are certain food items which cannot be bought using the electronic card including,
- Any kind of hot meal
- Cleaning products
- Cosmetics
- Medicines
- Beverages, alcohol, and tobacco
- Instant consumed food
Are You Eligible?
The applicant needs to meet the following requirements to be able to apply for the Louisiana Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- The candidate has to be a permanent resident of the Louisiana state to be eligible for the SNAP program
- The candidate must have a US citizenship to receive the Food Stamp program benefits.
- The candidate must have a current bank balance under $2001 if living individual
- If the candidate is sharing a household (either a senior citizen or a disabled person) with a person then the current bank balance should be below $ 3001
- All members of the household need to show their employment status. There are no work compulsions for candidates with a disability or with children who are six years old or young than that.
- The candidate needs to show their Social Security Number (SSN) to apply for the SNAP program.
The number of members in a household and total household income is also very important factors while considering a candidate for the Louisiana SNAP program.
The amount of the maximum gross income level before taxes must be less than or equal to
| Size Of Household | Maximum Annual Income Level ($) |
| 1 | 16237 |
| 2 | 21983 |
| 3 | 27729 |
| 4 | 33475 |
| 5 | 39221 |
| 6 | 44967 |
| 7 | 50713 |
| 8 | 56459 |
In case, the household size is greater than 8 members, an additional amount of $5,746 is considered per member. The amount of annual income level might change time to time therefore, it is a good step to contact the managing agency in your area. They will be able to provide you with the most recent and up-to-date guidelines about the program.
What is the SNAP pre-screening tool?
You can also use the SNAP pre-screening tool which is available on the official Louisiana SNAP website to check the eligibility criteria of the Louisiana SNAP program. Once you open the pre-screening website you will be asked to look up your
- Earnings
- Rent or mortgage
- Utility expenses
- Child support expenses
- Day-care expenses
- Medical bills, if you are older than 60, or disabled
- Other benefit programs you have applied to
- Any other payments
The program criteria for the Louisiana Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) vary from state to state hence it is advisable to visit the SNAP program office in your community to get hands-on and more specific information regarding the program. The households with low-income are also eligible to apply for other benefit programs like the Medicaid and Unemployment benefits in Louisiana.
How To Apply?
There are many different ways to apply for the Louisiana Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program like
- Apply Online
You can fill the application form for the Louisiana SNAP online. To fill the form please visit the official SNAP website. The website contains thorough information related to the eligibility criteria as well as the services provided by the program. After you complete your application you can submit it to the DCFS office.
- Apply via phone call
Individuals interested in the Louisiana Combined Application Project (LaCAP) program can contact at 1-888-524-3578. The LaCAP is a simplified form of the SNAP program for senior citizens who are 60 years or older.
By calling the above numbers, one gets to talk to highly qualified members of staff who can answer any queries the applicant might have regarding the SNAP program.
- Apply through the local SNAP office
If you want to apply in person for the Louisiana Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program kindly visit the local DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) office. The staff member will guide you about the eligibility and other criteria of programs. If you are new in the state of Louisiana you might have to provide information related to your
- Citizenship status and identity
- Immigration status
- Social Security Number (SSN)
You only need to complete the application form and submit it to the local DCFS office. In case you have any further queries related to the program you can visit the official website page of the Louisiana SNAP program to get your hands on the recent guidelines about the program.