Step 1 (optional): Take the pre-screening test here.
Step 2: Apply in one of the following ways:
- Apply online here.
- Print out an application here.
Step 3: Mail your completed application to your county welfare agency. To find the agency in your county, click here.
Note: For assistance, please call: 1-800-687-9512
Applying For New Jersey Food Stamps
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was designed to give support to families that do not have the income to afford their groceries each month. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka food stamps) helps millions of people. In reality, it aided over 40 million folks in the year 2010.
Anybody inside the United States can apply for food stamps, regardless of their particular background, ethnicity, sex, or faith. The average individual received $101/month via the SNAP program in 2008, helping them to get bread, milk products, meat, produce, fruits and even garden seeds.
New Jersey Applicant Regulations
There are several specifications a person has to satisfy to be eligible to receive help from the food stamp program. Some documents of proof of your eligibility are essential when you apply.
For most individuals under the age of 60, you can not own greater than $2,000 in assets. However, if you or another individual in your home is 60 or over, that limit raises to $3,000. Assistance from TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program), or SSI (Supplemental Security Income), do not count as assets when applying for food stamps. What is counted as assets is any cash you have, money that you have saved in a bank account, or your vehicle (in some instances).
There is also an income limit, which relies on the number of people living in your home at the time that you apply for food stamps.
The total of your expenses is also considered. The amount you pay for child or elderly care, rent or mortgage and utilities will all be taken into account. Some medical expenses may also be considered under certain circumstances.
About The New Jersey Families First EBT Card
When you are accepted into the SNAP program, you will be given an electronic benefits transfer card (EBT). An EBT card is very similar to a debit card and can be used at many grocery stores, and even some qualifying convenience stores or farmers markets.
In New Jersey the EBT Card is called the Families First EBT card. With the Families First card you can buy all food and beverage items as long as they have a nutritional label, are not hot (such as from the deli case), do not contain alcohol and are meant for human consumption.
When you first get your Families First EBT card, you will need to set a pin number. The pin number is card-specific, meaning your pin number will only work with your card. Make sure that you keep your pin number private to avoid theft. To set your pin number, visit the welfare office nearest you.
New Jersey benefits will be transferred to your Families First card on the same day every month as long as you participate in the food stamps program. Once you are no longer with the food stamps program, your benefits will still be available until you have used them up.