Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Check your eligibility online:  New York State online pre-screening tool

Detailed financial eligibility guidelines are available from the New York State Office of Disability and Temporary Assistance

To process your application, the following documentation is REQUIRED:

• Identity of all people in your household
• Address, if you have one
• Age of people in your household
• Social security number of all people in your household
• Citizenship of all people in your household
• Earned and unearned income of all people in your household members
• Resources if over age 60

Documentation of the following is OPTIONAL but may increase your SNAP benefits:

• Rent or housing costs
• Medical bills if over age 60/disabled
• Other expenses (such as child care)

Without the required documents, your application may be denied.

Yes.  After filing an application, the Department of Social Services will contact you to schedule a required eligibility interview. 

If you are age 16 – 59 years old and able to work, you will probably need to meet the general work requirements.

These include:

• Registering for work
• Participating in SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) or workfare if assigned
• Taking a suitable job if it is offered
• Not voluntarily quitting a job or reducing your work hours below 30 a week without a good reason.

If you are 18-64, able to work and have no dependents younger than 14, you may need to meet the general work requirements and other work requirements. 

Read more about these new rules.

For more help, call DSS at (914) 995-3333 or visit one of our District Offices. 

If you are 60 years old or older, or you have a disability, and you have no household earned income, you may be eligible for the SNAP Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP).

ESAP simplifies SNAP applications for eligible households, where all adult members are seniors and/or disabled.

Call DSS at (914) 995-3333 or visit one of our District Offices to find out if you are eligible. 

Any food for the household, such as:

• Fruits and vegetables;
• Meat, poultry, and fish;
• Dairy products;
• Breads and cereals;
• Other foods such as snack foods and non-alcoholic beverages; and
• Seeds and plants, which produce food for the household to eat.

Households CANNOT use SNAP benefits to buy:

• Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, or tobacco
• Vitamins, medicines, and supplements. If an item has a Supplement Facts label, it is considered a supplement and is not eligible for SNAP purchase.
• Live animals (except shellfish, fish removed from water, and animals slaughtered prior to pick-up from the store).
• Foods that are hot at the point of sale
• Any nonfood items such as:
  • Pet foods
  • Cleaning supplies, paper products, and other household supplies.
  • Hygiene items, cosmetics

Once you qualify for SNAP, you will receive an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. The EBT card looks like a debit card. It allows you to buy groceries with your benefits at participating stores and locations.

Click for information about how to use, care for and secure your EBT card.

• Online: Visit www.ebtEDGE.com or download the ebtEDGE Mobile App at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. You must register your EBT Card account and select your User ID and password
  
• By Phone: Call (888) 328-6399. The hotline is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean and Russian, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Click for more information about EBT cards.

If your EBT card is damaged, lost or stolen, you must contact EBT Customer Service.

You can report the issue with your card online or by phone.

• Online: Visit the ebtEDGE website or use the ebtEDGE mobile app available at the  Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 
• By Phone: Call the toll-free hotline at (888) 328-6399

Click for information about how to use, care for and secure your EBT card.

You may be eligible to renew your SNAP benefits.

If you are receiving SNAP now, you will receive a "recertification packet" in the mail around two months before your current benefits expire so that you can "recertify" (renew your benefits).

To recertify you must:

• File a recertification application
• Be interviewed after the application is filed

You also may need to submit additional documents

For more information, read the New York State Office of Disability and Temporary Assistance Recertification Frequently Asked Questions.

Your benefits can be stolen through scams like skimming and phishing.

Card skimming directly copies card and personal identification number (PIN) information fusing a device placed on a card reading machine.

Skimming can happen anywhere you swipe your EBT card, including automated teller machines. 

Find out how to protect yourself (in English and Spanish).

The SNAP-Ed Program offers nutrition classes to help people with limited budgets learn how to make healthier food choices.

Classes are taught in English and Spanish.

Participants prepare, cook and taste a variety of different foods.

Learn more:

• Online: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester EFNP website
• By Phone: (914) 285-4620

See this flyer in English or Spanish.