SNAP / FOOD STAMP OUTREACH

Families and individuals who seek food aid from Partner Agencies of Tarrant Area Food Bank are often eligible for the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. SNAP is a nutrition assistance program that helps low-income and temporarily unemployed people purchase nutritious foods.

Our Food Stamp/SNAP Outreach staff are available to visit our Partner Agencies and other community sites to ensure that anyone who is eligible for SNAP is aware of the program and has the opportunity to apply for nutrition benefits. Information about eligibility and how to apply includes Income Guidelines and details provided by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture at http://www.fns.usda.gov/SNAP/faqs.htm.

The outreach staff also help eligible families apply for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid and/or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and, upon request, delivers completed applications to the appropriate offices of the Health and Human Services Commission.  For more information, see Social Services Outreach.

SNAP/Food Stamp Numbers

During the economic recession that began in 2008, the number of people seeking food assistance and receiving SNAP/Food Stamp benefits has increased significantly across the nation, Texas and Tarrant Area Food Bank's service region as families have been hit with rising food and energy prices, unemployment and housing foreclosures.

Texas

• Statewide, the number of people receiving SNAP/Food Stamp benefits increased nearly 50 percent from May 2008 to May 2010.
• Of the nearly 3.5 million Texans benefiting from SNAP in May of this year, 56 percent (1.94 million) were children aged 17 and younger.

Our 13-County Service region

• From May 2008 to May 2010, the total number of people benefiting from SNAP increased 68 percent.
• Of the nearly 290,000 individuals in our service region who were able to keep some food on their tables through SNAP this past May, 57 percent were children.

Tarrant County 

• The number of residents receiving SNAP benefits for their basic nutritional needs increased 63 percent from May 2008 to May 2010
• Of the nearly 151,000 individuals benefiting from SNAP this past May, 58 percent were children.

SNAP and the Local Economy

Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program increases the purchasing power of low-income community residents and thereby contributes to the local economy. 

Estimates of what local communities receive in multiplier effects from the SNAP/Food Stamp Program range from $1.73* to $1.84** for every dollar of SNAP benefits spent.

In addition, the federal government pays the full cost of SNAP benefits and half of each state's administrative costs associated with the program such as salaries and office space.

More about SNAP

 * "The Economic Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act", January 21, 2009, by Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody's Economy.com

** Kenneth Hansen and Elise Golan, "Effects of Changes in Food Stamp Expenditures Across the U.S. Economy," Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report Number 26-6, U.S. Department of Agriculture, August 2002.

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