Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Ask about SNAP and get the actual rule.

Demeter answers in plain language and quotes the federal regulation behind every claim and your state’s own manual, to help explain the benefit program to you.

SNAP is monthly money for groceries, paid onto an EBT card. Formerly called food stamps. Applying is free.

Ask Demeter about your situationPlain-language answers with the rule attached. Pick your state and ask anything about SNAP.

Free, cited, and clear about its limits

Free, no account
Ask as many questions as you need. Nothing to sign up for.
Every claim cited
Answers quote the federal regulation, and the state manual where we have verified one.
Everywhere else
Federal rules still answer. Figures that vary by state are deferred to your agency rather than guessed.
50 States verified
  • CA
  • WA
  • TX
  • NY
  • GA
  • MI
  • IL
  • FL
  • MA
  • NV
  • AZ
  • OR
  • WI
  • MN
  • PA
  • OH
  • NC
  • NJ
  • VA
  • TN
  • IN
  • MO
  • MD
  • CO
  • SC
  • AL
  • LA
  • KY
  • OK
  • CT
  • UT
  • IA
  • AR
  • MS
  • KS
  • NM
  • NE
  • ID
  • WV
  • HI
  • ME
  • NH
  • SD
  • MT
  • RI
  • ND
  • DE
  • WY
  • VT
  • AK

DC and the territories are verified too.

  • DC
  • GU
  • VI

each checked against that agency’s own published rules before going live.

What SNAP is

SNAP is the country’s largest food assistance program. The federal government pays for the benefit and writes the baseline rules; your state takes the application and decides your case. If you qualify, an amount arrives each month on an EBT card you use like a debit card.

Who pays, who decides
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service funds the benefit and sets the federal rules. Your state agency takes the application and decides your case.
How it reaches you
A monthly amount on an EBT card, used like a debit card at most grocery stores and many farmers markets.
What it buys
Groceries to take home and prepare, and seeds and plants that grow food. Not alcohol, household goods, or hot food made to eat right away, though some states let certain households buy restaurant meals.
What applying costs
Nothing. Applying is free, and one household’s benefit does not come out of anyone else’s.

Official program information

Demeter is not a government agency, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by USDA. For the official program and to find your own state agency:

The SNAP logo is a service mark of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. USDA does not endorse any goods, services, or enterprises.

Who runs SNAP in your state

Demeter never decides your case. Your state agency does. These are the agencies whose own published rules the verified answers are built from, and where you actually apply.

Not listed? Demeter still answers at the federal floor, and points you to your own state agency for figures that vary by state.

  • CA: CalFresh, California Department of Social Services (CDSS), BenefitsCal (https://benefitscal.com)
  • WA: Basic Food, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Washington Connection (https://www.washingtonconnection.org)
  • TX: SNAP Food Benefits, Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), YourTexasBenefits.com (https://www.yourtexasbenefits.com)
  • NY: SNAP, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), myBenefits.ny.gov (https://mybenefits.ny.gov)
  • GA: SNAP, Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), Georgia Gateway (https://gateway.ga.gov)
  • MI: Food Assistance Program (FAP), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), MI Bridges (https://newmibridges.michigan.gov)
  • IL: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), ABE (https://abe.illinois.gov)
  • FL: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), MyACCESS Florida (https://www.myaccessflorida.com)
  • MA: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), DTA Connect (https://dtaconnect.eohhs.mass.gov)
  • NV: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Nevada Division of Social Services (DSS), Access Nevada (https://accessnevada.nv.gov)
  • AZ: Nutrition Assistance (NA), Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), Health-e-Arizona Plus (HEAplus) (https://www.healthearizonaplus.gov/)
  • OR: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), ONE Online (https://one.oregon.gov)
  • WI: FoodShare, Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), ACCESS.wi.gov (https://access.wisconsin.gov)
  • MN: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), MNbenefits (https://mnbenefits.mn.gov)
  • PA: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), COMPASS (https://www.compass.state.pa.us)
  • OH: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), Ohio Benefits Self Service Portal (https://ssp.benefits.ohio.gov)
  • NC: Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), ePASS (https://epass.nc.gov)
  • NJ: NJ SNAP, New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS), MyNJHelps (https://www.mynjhelps.gov)
  • VA: SNAP, Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS), CommonHelp (https://commonhelp.virginia.gov)
  • TN: SNAP, Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS), One DHS Customer Portal (https://onedhs.tn.gov)
  • IN: SNAP, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), FSSA Benefits Portal (https://fssabenefits.in.gov/bp/)
  • MO: SNAP, Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS), myDSS Benefits Portal (https://mydss.mo.gov/)
  • MD: SNAP, Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS), MarylandBenefits (https://marylandbenefits.gov/home/#/)
  • CO: SNAP, Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), Colorado PEAK (https://peak.colorado.gov/)
  • SC: SNAP, South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS), DSS Benefits Portal (https://benefitsportal.dss.sc.gov/)
  • AL: SNAP, Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR), MyDHR (https://mydhr.alabama.gov/)
  • LA: SNAP, Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), CAFÉ Self-Service Portal (https://cafe-cp.dcfs.la.gov/selfservice/)
  • KY: SNAP, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), kynect benefits (benefind.ky.gov) (https://benefind.ky.gov/)
  • OK: SNAP, Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS), OKDHSLIVE (okdhslive.org) (https://www.okdhslive.org/)
  • CT: SNAP, Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS), ConneCT (connect.ct.gov) / MyDSS (https://www.connect.ct.gov/)
  • UT: SNAP, Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS), myCase (https://jobs.utah.gov/mycase)
  • IA: SNAP, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS), Iowa HHS Self-Service Portal (https://hhsservices.iowa.gov/)
  • AR: SNAP, Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS), Access Arkansas (https://access.arkansas.gov/)
  • MS: SNAP, Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS), Access Mississippi (https://www.access.ms.gov/consumer/home)
  • KS: SNAP, Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), KEES (https://cssp.kees.ks.gov/apspssp/sspNonMed.portal)
  • NM: SNAP, New Mexico Health Care Authority (HCA), YesNM (https://www.yes.state.nm.us/yesnm/home/index)
  • NE: SNAP, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), iServe Nebraska (https://iserve.nebraska.gov/)
  • ID: SNAP, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW), Idalink (https://idalink.idaho.gov/)
  • WV: SNAP, West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS), WV PATH (https://www.wvpath.wv.gov/)
  • HI: SNAP, Hawaii Department of Human Services (DHS), PAIS (https://pais.dhs.hawaii.gov/PAIS/#!/)
  • ME: SNAP, Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), My Maine Connection (https://www1.maine.gov/benefits/account/login.html)
  • NH: SNAP, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), NH EASY (https://nheasy.nh.gov/)
  • SD: SNAP, South Dakota Department of Social Services (DSS), eaPortal (https://eaportal.sd.gov/)
  • MT: SNAP, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), apply.mt.gov (https://apply.mt.gov/)
  • RI: SNAP, Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS), Customer Portal (HealthyRhode) (https://healthyrhode.ri.gov/)
  • ND: SNAP, North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ND Self-Service Portal (https://dhsbenefits.dhs.nd.gov/SSPPortal/public/?userType=client)
  • DE: SNAP, Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), Delaware ASSIST (https://assist.dhss.delaware.gov/)
  • WY: SNAP, Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS), Wyoming DFS SNAP (https://dfs.wyo.gov/assistance-programs/food-assistance/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap/)
  • VT: 3SquaresVT, Vermont Agency of Human Services (AHS), myBenefits (Vermont) (https://dcf.vermont.gov/esd/applicants/mybenefits)
  • DC: SNAP, DC Department of Human Services (DHS), District Direct (https://districtdirect.dc.gov/ua/)
  • AK: SNAP, Alaska Department of Health (DOH), Alaska Connect Portal (https://my.alaska.gov/)
  • GU: SNAP, Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS), MyBenefits Guam (https://mybenefits.guam.gov/)
  • VI: SNAP, U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services (DHS)

What actually decides whether you qualify

Not your income alone. That is the most common reason people who qualify never apply. Eligibility turns on what is left after the deductions you are entitled to, and on a short list of category rules. And this is why a straight answer is genuinely hard to find anywhere: almost everyone is an edge case. A student who works twenty hours, a household where one person is not eligible, self-employment income that changes every month, a parent applying for citizen children. Each of those changes the arithmetic, and a general answer written for nobody in particular is wrong for most of them. That is the gap a conversation can close and a web page cannot.

Household size
Who buys and prepares food together, which is not always who lives together. Roommates who shop separately are usually separate households.
Income, after deductions
Rent, utilities, childcare, child support you pay, and, for members who are 60+ or disabled, medical costs above a set floor all come off before the limit is applied.
Category rules
Students, non-citizens, and adults without dependents each have their own rules, and most have exemptions that are missed more often than they are applied.
Your state
Federal rules set the floor; each state adds its own manual, its own utility allowances, and in some states its own asset test.

How Demeter answers

  1. 01

    Every claim carries its rule

    Answers cite the federal regulation and, in verified states, that state’s own manual, linked so you can read the rule yourself or show it to a caseworker who disagrees.

  2. 02

    It says when it is not sure

    Each answer is marked certain or uncertain, and says why. When the sources retrieved do not cover your question, it says so instead of guessing a number.

  3. 03

    State packs are checked adversarially

    Before a state goes live, its policy pack is cross-checked against the state’s own primary sources and run through a gate whose only job is to prove the draft wrong. See the states we have checked

Better answers than a general AI assistant

Ask a general assistant about SNAP and you get a fluent answer with nothing behind it. That is the specific failure Georgetown University’s Beeck Center found across twelve experiments on turning benefits policy into working code: models handling genuinely complex policy logic still need outside knowledge and a person checking the result. A language model is fluent enough to be wrong convincingly, and benefits rules are exactly where that costs someone money: a wrong income limit is a family that does not apply. So Demeter reads the actual regulation for each question, quotes the rule behind every claim, links it, and refuses to state a figure it could not verify. You do not have to trust the answer; you can read what it came from.

“still require external knowledge and human oversight”
Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, Georgetown University. AI-Powered Rules as Code, February 2025
What the application is actually askingPeople do not arrive with a policy question. They arrive stuck on one line of a form. Here is what each line means and the rule that decides it.

Where you can use your EBT card

252,894 stores across every state and territory accept EBT: supermarkets, corner stores, many farmers markets, and online at some retailers.

Store counts published by USDA, as of 2026-08-12.

Not seeing your store? Check USDA's SNAP Retailer Locator ↗

The questions people actually ask first

Almost nobody starts with the income limits. These come up first, in about this order, and they are reasonable things to want settled before you hand a government agency your details. Here is what is actually true, including the one we cannot give you a flat answer on.

Does this affect my immigration status?

This one is changing, so we will not give you a flat answer. Federal public charge rules have not counted SNAP since 2022, but DHS has rescinded that rule effective 18 September 2026, and after that date officers can weigh benefits case by case. If anyone in your household is not a US citizen, talk to a free immigration legal aid before you apply. Not to us, and not to a caseworker.

Will I have to pay it back?

Not if what you reported was right. Benefits are not a loan. If an agency later finds it paid more than you were owed (usually a reporting mistake, on either side), it can ask for that overpayment back.

Am I taking it from someone who needs it more?

No. SNAP is not a fixed pot that runs out. Your benefit is not subtracted from anyone else’s, and one more approved household does not make another household’s smaller.

Can I get it if I own a car, or have savings?

Usually yes. Most states have dropped the asset test entirely. Where one still applies, a vehicle you need to get to work or to medical care is normally not counted. This is one of the rules that varies most by state, so it is worth asking about yours.

Do I have to be unemployed?

No. Most SNAP households with a working-age adult have someone earning. Working does not disqualify you: earnings are counted after the deductions you are entitled to, which is why the limit is higher than most people assume.

Will they investigate me?

The agency checks what you report: who lives with you, what you earn, what you pay for housing. That is routine verification and it happens on every application. It is not an investigation, and it is not an accusation.

Ask Demeter about your situationEvery answer quotes the rule it comes from, so you can check it.