What You Need To Know?
The Minnesota Food Assistance Program (MFAP) helps people with low-income households to get healthy and nutritious food to improve their health conditions. The program was created in 1998 as a result of a change in federal law according to which non-citizens were denied the food stamp benefits.
The program was created for non-citizens who do not qualify for the SNAP program. The program does not necessarily provide food assistance to every family member. Most people must spend some cash along with their MFAP benefits to buy enough food for a month. The program is administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
What are the program objectives?
The main goal of the program is to make healthy and nutritious food accessible to the legal non-citizens by financing their food expenses. This allows those non-citizens to improve their standard of living. Eligible candidates 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.
Are You Eligible?
The applicant needs to meet the following requirements to be able to apply for the Minnesota Food Assistance Program (MFAP)
- The candidate is a non-citizen
- The candidate does not qualify for the Minnesota Family Investment Program
- The candidate is 50 years of age or older and does not qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- 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 (SNN) to apply for the MFAP program.
The Minnesota Food Assistance Program is similar to the SNAP program except for the citizenship requirement.
The numbers of members in a household and total household income are also very important factors while considering a candidate for the Minnesota Food Assistance 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 | 20,609 |
| 2 | 27,902 |
| 3 | 35,195 |
| 4 | 42,488 |
| 5 | 49,781 |
| 6 | 57,074 |
| 7 | 64,367 |
| 8 | 71,660 |
In case, the household size is greater than 8 members, an additional amount of $7293 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.
You can also use the pre-screening tool which is available on the official MFAP website to check the eligibility criteria of the Minnesota Food Assistance 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
How To Apply?
After checking your eligibility for the Minnesota Food Assistance Program (MFAP), the next step is the application process. To make the process simple and painless the Minnesota Department of Human Resources (which looks over the MFAP) has come up with several ways through which an applicant can submit the MFAP application form.
Apply Online
The application form can be accessed through an online portal at Combined Application Form (CAF). You will be required to create a free online account to access the portal and after that, you can go ahead and fill out the form.
Once you fill out the CAF application form which is an application form the counties require from an applicant who is applying for the various food and cash assistance program. In case you are unable to access the online form you can request a CAF from your local DHS office. You will be provided with an interview date after your application is processed and if you cannot visit the office for an in-person interview you can also request for a phone interview.
It is important to keep in mind that, before filling the application form you have all the required information and documents to speed up the process. Once you have filled out the application form you can return it to the DHS office either by
- Fax
- In-person
Apply in person
In case, you wish to return the application form in person, you will have to locate a nearby Department of Human Services office in your area. There is a possibility that you might find more than one MFAP offices in your county. To find the one close to you, visit the official DHS website at county human services agency.
Apply via Phone
In case you have other queries please call the MFAP office at the following numbers,
651-431-4050 (for applicants in Twin City Metro area)
1-800-657-3698 (for applicants outside of the metro area)
711 or 1-800-627-3529 (for applicants who are TTY users)
For Further Information
If you wish to learn more about the Minnesota MFAP program you can visit the Minnesota Food Assistance Program (MFAP) official website or call at 1-800-657-3698.
The program representatives at the MFAP office will make sure that you are provided with accurate and updated information regarding the program to ease the application process. You can choose any of the above options to get the application form and apply either in person or online however you feel comfortable.