Earlier this year, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the program that oversees Food Stamps, found that the economy is improving enough to stop extending the time low income people could receive food stamps.
The work-for-food requirements were first enacted under the 1996 welfare reform law. It requires able-bodied adults aged 18 – 49 who have no children or other dependents in their home to work, volunteer, or attend education or job-training courses at least 80 hours a month to receive food aid. If they don’t, their benefits are cut off after three months. This timeframe was waived due to the poor economy, but now that the unemployment rate is falling, the three month limit is being reinstated.
This could affect nearly 1.1 million adults, some of which are applying for disability. Here is the catch: if you engage in “work activity” (education and volunteering could count) while applying for disability benefits, SSA may use this as evidence of your ability to engage in full time work and it could disqualify you from receiving disability benefits entirely. Making these people choose between eating today while waiting on SSA, which is admittedly a very slow process, and risk ever getting the benefits at all, or food banks which are not able to keep up with demand as it is currently.