Food Stamp Benefits

A SNAP household is made up of all the people who live together and purchase and prepare food together. Some people are required to be considered as the same household even if they do not purchase and prepare food together. These people are:

• Spouses living at the same address,
• Children under age 22 living with their parents, and
• Children under age 18 who are under the parental control of the head of household.
• Elderly or disabled adults (and their spouse and children) who are unable to purchase and prepare food on their own may be considered their own household if the income of the other people they live with is less than 165% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

People such as boarders, roomers, and live-in attendants/caretakers are not required to be counted as part of the SNAP household unless they fit in one of the mandatory categories listed above. But you can count them as members of your household if they purchase and prepare food with the rest of the household.

Households can use food assistance benefits to buy:

• Breads and cereals;
• Fruits and vegetables;
• Meats, fish, and poultry;
• Dairy products; and
• Seeds and plants to grow and produce food for the household to eat.

Households cannot use food assistance benefits to buy:

• Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, or tobacco;
• Pet food, soaps, paper products, or household supplies;
• Vitamins and other medicines;
• Food that will be eaten in the store; and
• Hot foods.

Stores are not allowed to give cash to individuals who receive food assistance benefits, or in exchange for the return of empty bottles and cans that contained food purchased with food assistance benefits.

If your application for SNAP is denied, you should receive a written notice stating the reason for denial. If you disagree with the decision, you have ninety (90) days from the date of the notice to ask for a Fair Hearing. A Fair Hearing is the process that allows you to dispute the denial decision if you believe it was decided unfairly. Instructions on how to ask for a Fair Hearing should be included with the notice of denial that DCF sends to you.

Or, you may complete a public assistance fair hearing form on this Florida Department of Children and Families webpage.

It can take several weeks for your Fair Hearing request to be processed. Once it is processed, you will receive a letter telling you the date, time, and location of your Fair Hearing.

Before your SNAP benefits can be reduced or terminated, you should receive written notice from DCF, stating the reasons why this is happening. If you disagree with the decision, you must ask for a Fair Hearing within ninety (90) days of the date of the notice.

If you ask for a Fair Hearing before your benefits are reduced or stopped, you may ask that your benefits continue pending your appeal. This means that you will still get your full benefits until a final decision is made.

You must request an appeal within ten (10) days of the notice to keep getting benefits throughout your appeal process.

If you lose at the Fair Hearing, you may be asked to repay the amount of benefits you received during your appeal process. If you do not ask for aid pending your appeal and you win at your Fair Hearing, you will receive benefits to compensate you for the amount you should have been receiving, up to a year.

If you did not receive written notice but your benefits have stopped or decreased, you have a right to request a Fair Hearing. You should appeal immediately upon learning your benefits have been reduced or cut off.

There are three different kinds of SNAP overpayments:

• Agency Error: DCF made an error and paid you too much money.
• Inadvertent Household Error: The household made an error that led DCF to pay you too much.
• Intentional Program Violation: DCF believes you or a member of your household lied, committed fraud, or intentionally misled them to gain extra SNAP benefits.

If DCF claims that your household received more food stamps than you should have been given but you believe that you were not overpaid, you have the right to appeal the decision within ninety (90) days.

If you were overpaid benefits, you are still obligated to pay back DCF for the amount of overpayment — even if the overpayment was DCF’s error. An accidental overpayment does not benefit your household, because it must always be paid back. If you have noticed an overpayment in your SNAP benefits that you believe to be DCF’s error, notify them immediately. It cannot benefit you in the long run.

If you do not appeal or if you agree with the overpayment, DCF can do several things to collect the amount that you owe:

If you are getting SNAP benefits now, DCF will lower your monthly benefits. The amount they will take depends on the type of overpayment you have.

If you are not getting SNAP benefits, DCF will try to get you to agree to a repayment plan. If you do not agree, they can take your federal tax refund. In some situations, they can also take part of other benefits you get, like Social Security.

If DCF alleges that you committed an intentional program violation, you should speak to contact your local legal services provider about potential consequences and remedies.

If you cannot afford to repay the overpayment, you may file for a “compromise.” A compromise is when DCF agrees to eliminate the overpayment altogether, and you can request one at any time. You may get approved for a compromise in certain situations, such as when:

• Your household income is fixed and based on age and/or disability,
• You are in bankruptcy proceedings, or

You can prove that, due to your ongoing expenses, you will not be able to repay the debt within 36 months.