Texas Food Stamp Benefits

Texas' food assistance program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, was previously known as the food stamp program. Although the name of the program changed, its fundamentals are the same, with the State of Texas and the U.S. Department of Agriculture working jointly to provide financial assistance to households who struggle to pay for food. To receive benefits, your household must meet minimum-income threshholds.

Food Benefits

• SNAP provides households with funds issued electronically that can be used to purchase qualifying foods from grocers. Foods that qualify for purchase using SNAP funds include meat and dairy products, produce and bread, while products such as tobacco, liquor, pharmaceutical goods and pet supplies may not be purchased using SNAP. As of October 2010, a single-member household may not receive more than $200 in benefits from SNAP, while a four-member family's maximum benefit package is $668, and en eight-member family may bring home only $1,202 in SNAP benefits.

Calculating Benefits

• Most households will not receive the maximum benefit amount. To estimate your benefit amount, deduct 20 percent from your gross monthly income. Subtract housing and day care costs, medical expenses from that figure, and multiply it by 0.3. Subtract this figure from your household's maximum benefit amount to arrive at your benefit amount.

  For example, a three-member household with a $1,500 gross income deducts 20 percent ($300), then subtracts rent ($400) and has no day care or medical costs, for a net income of $700. This is multiplied by 0.3 to get $210. The maximum benefit amount for a three-member household is $526, so this family would be eligible to receive $316 ($526 - $210) each month in SNAP benefits.

Qualifications

• To be eligible for SNAP benefits in Texas, your household must have a net income below the federal poverty level. This limit is set each October. As of October 2010, this amount was $1,838 for a family of four.

Emergency Benefits

• Texas residents who are in extreme need may receive expedited SNAP benefits, which are processed more quickly than regular benefits. To qualify for expedited approval of SNAP benefits, your household must have less than $100 in resources and a monthly income less than $150, or combined income and resources that are less than its monthly rent and utilities payment.

Payments

• Payments from Texas' SNAP program are placed on the Lone Star Card, a credit card that confers benefit money to recipients for many of the state's programs.