by Lauryn Bray

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United Way of King County (UWKC) has partnered with WithinReach in their efforts to dispel myths and misconceptions regarding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and who is eligible to receive them. Through their work, they have identified three areas that lead to common myths that deter eligible individuals from applying, such as concerns related to documentation status, employment, and not wanting to deprive others of benefits.

WithinReach is a statewide nonprofit that works to connect people with health and social services. With the operation of their Help Me Grow Washington Hotline, WithinReach identified common misconceptions among potentially eligible individuals.

“We are partnering with WithinReach, which is another nonprofit organization that does a lot of work in King County. They do a lot of SNAP education and they also have a call center where people can call in to get assistance with their SNAP application or answer questions about the program,” said Elsa Young, food security impact manager at UWKC.

“There’s a lot of confusion among folks around immigration status, and based on different immigration statuses, whether you’re eligible for SNAP or not,” said Young. “There’s a lot of fear around using public benefits, especially for people who are undocumented [because] during the Trump era, receiving SNAP benefits was considered a public charge.”

“Public charge” refers to an individual who does not have citizenship in the United States and is deemed likely to become dependent on the government for support. When individuals apply for citizenship, they must pass a public-charge test in order to receive lawful permanent resident status. Individuals without U.S. citizenship must also pass a public-charge test in order to enter the U.S. In December 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final ruling that SNAP benefits will not be considered in determining if an individual is a public charge.

Although accepting SNAP benefits no longer places an individual at risk for becoming a public charge, Young says that people are still apprehensive about enrolling. “It’s taken a lot of years to get that message out, and there’s still a lot of fear,” she said.

While applicants do need to be a citizen of the U.S. to apply for personal SNAP benefits, immigrants with undocumented status can apply for benefits on behalf of another member of the household with U.S. citizenship. This means that a parent who is undocumented is still able to receive SNAP benefits on behalf of their child, if the child has U.S. citizenship.

Another misconception, Young said, stems from people who believe that by applying for SNAP, they are taking benefits away from someone else, “A lot of people will say, ‘There’s lots of people out there who need it more than I do, and I don’t want to take money away from people who need it more.’ But the way that the program works is that there’s not a cap on the number of people that can participate,” she said.

According to Young, everyone who applies for SNAP and is eligible will receive benefits. “The government is contractually obligated to pay the benefits for any household that meets the eligibility requirements. So as long as you apply, and you meet the eligibility requirements, you will receive benefits, and you won’t be taking benefits away from anybody else,” she said.

Employment status also does not affect SNAP eligibility. “A lot of people worry that if they have a job, they won’t be eligible for public benefits, which is definitely not the case, in terms of SNAP. Then on the flip side of that, some people who are unemployed worry that being unemployed will make them ineligible because they’re not contributing to the workforce, or whatever it is, and neither of those is really the case,” said Young. “You can receive SNAP benefits, whether you have a job or not.”

While SNAP eligibility is not based on employment status, Young said that there may be work requirements for some individuals receiving benefits. “For a subset of people, there are some requirements that you need to have a job after three months of receiving SNAP, so there are some work requirements for certain folks,” she said.

Though employment does not affect eligibility, there are income guidelines depending on the number of people living in the beneficiary’s household. “The main eligibility thing is there’s an income limit and in Washington, it’s 200% of the federal poverty level. So as long as you make at or below 200% of the federal poverty level for your household size, then you’re eligible. You also have to be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident,” Young said.

A household with one individual is eligible for SNAP benefits if the applicant’s current bank balance (including both checkings and savings) is less than $2,001. Individuals who are disabled or share their household with either a person age 60 or over, or a parent, spouse, or child with a disability, can have a bank balance of less than $3,001 and maintain eligibility.

More information regarding how to apply for SNAP benefits, or to check eligibility, can be accessed at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services website.

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📸 Featured Image: The interior of a retail store in Los Angeles, California, displaying their participation in the SNAP program in 2019. Photo via Jeff Bukowski/Shutterstock.com

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