Food Stamps: Up to 31% More Could Qualify for SNAP Benefits If This Requirement Is Lifted
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When applying for SNAP benefits, applicants must schedule an interview with their state SNAP agency. SNAP interviews are mandatory to help agencies better understand a household’s circumstances, but advocacy groups argue the interview requirement is burdensome and prevents those who qualify for food stamps from receiving assistance, Fortune reported.
The National Student Legal Defense Network, the Center for Law and Social Policy and the California Student Aid Commission are petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lift SNAP interview requirements. According to the Associated Press, a spokesperson for the USDA said the agency is reviewing the proposal.
Under current law, a state agency must complete an applicant’s initial certification review by phone or in person. Expedited interviews may take place within seven days for people with particular needs who meet certain income criteria.
Eligible households are notified of their certification period, or how long they’ll receive SNAP benefits. Before this period ends, the participant’s local SNAP office contacts them with information on how to re-certify. However, participants say scheduling a mandated re-certification interview is difficult.
“You don’t get to pick the time — it’s just given to you — and, usually since it’s during the day, it can inconvenience you if you work or go to school,” Aviana Kimani, a student at West Los Angeles College, explained to AP News. Kimani received SNAP benefits for a year and a half, but left the program after experiencing difficulty scheduling an interview.
Kimani also said you don’t know how long the call will be, and if she didn’t have to go through the screening process, she definitely would have been on benefits longer.
A 2021 study of enrollment data in California found that 31% of SNAP applicants in Los Angeles County were denied SNAP due to missing their interview compared to 6% who were denied for failing eligibility requirements. The organizations petitioning the USDA argue that the current regulator requirement is an outdated bureaucratic obstacle.
These barriers were also part of a federal lawsuit in February 2022. In Missouri, applicants were on hold for hours with the SNAP call center for an interview. The lawsuit alleged that barriers to obtaining a SNAP interview were primarily because of the state’s dysfunctional call center, which violates federal law and deprives eligible households of benefits.
The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities found that the interview requirement “can be an important way for states to gather accurate information and for applicants to have their questions answered, but it can be a labor-intensive task and delay approval,” AP News reported.
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