Food Stamp Requirements in West Virginia
- Food assistance has helped many a low-income family.peppers image by Joann Cooper from Fotolia.com
In West Virginia, food stamp benefits are given via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Strict rules apply. According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources website, if you are a West Virginian, you must work or participate in a work program in order to receive benefits on a steady basis. Otherwise you may only receive benefits for three out of every 36 months. The exception is that if you live with a dependent child. - If you are a resident of West Virginia, you can only use your benefits to purchase food. According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources website, you may not buy alcohol, toilet paper, tobacco or anything else inedible.
- According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services website, in West Virginia, you must be a member of an Assistance Group (or AG), a group of people who live together and are considered eligible for assistance because they are part of the eligible household. These are people who buy and prepare meals together. A traditional family with an underage son or daughter are an AG. If you live alone, West Virginia statute considers you an AG unto yourself. By law you are a member of the same AG as your spouse if you live and purchase meals together.
A boarder cannot claim eligibility if he does not have the qualifying AG's consent, or he pays a reasonable portion of the room and board. According to the WVDHHS website, that number is 50 percent.
Foster children are not necessarily part of the same AG; they're considered boarders. However, with the foster parents' consent, they too can be considered eligible parties. - Students can be eligible, depending on the circumstances. For SNAP purposes,the law only considers you a student if you are between the ages of 18 and 50 and are enrolled in a full-time program at an accredited, four-year university. You cannot apply for benefits if you live in a dormitory that furnishes its students meals.
If you are a student living off campus, you must meet the traditional 20-hour a week work minimum, and your employment must lead to a paycheck, as opposed to volunteer work. - According to the Gottrouble website, the law in West Virginia says that in order to receive food stamps, you cannot have a monthly income of more than $2,000. However, if your household includes someone older than 60 or a person who is totally and permanently disabled, the limit climbs to $3,000. Cash, bank accounts, stocks, and real or personal property do count towards this total. However, Social Security and other such benefits do not.
