The Food Stamp Program is a federal nutrition program that helps people with low incomes buy more food and improve their diets. The program’s stated purpose is to “promote the general welfare and to safeguard the health and well being of the Nation’s population by raising the levels of nutrition among low-income households.” [7 C.F.R. § 271.1(a), 7 U.S.C. § 2011.].

The following is a concise summary of basic eligibility in the food stamp program:

• “Households” get food stamps.
• In general, to get food stamps the household’s income must be less than the gross income eligibility standard. If the household includes an elderly or disabled person, there is a higher gross income limit. If all members of the household are elderly and/or disabled, the household does not have to meet any gross income limit.
• To qualify, the household’s “net income” must be less than the net income eligibility standard. To determine net income, there are various deductions and credits that reduce the household’s overall earned or other income. (For more details about how income is defined, see the sections of this guide explaining financial eligibility.) After all deductions and credits are applied, the household’s net income is then used to determine whether it meets the threshold net income eligibility standard. These various deductions and credits also are used to calculate the amount of benefits the household will receive.
• To get food stamps, the value of the household’s property (the food stamp program calls them “resources”) must be under the food stamp resource limit.
• However, if everyone in the household is getting cash welfare assistance — e.g., general assistance (GA) or CalWORKs (the name of the TANF program in California) — the household is “categorically eligible,” i.e., automatically qualified for food stamps. A few basic food stamp rules still apply to people who are categorically eligible.
• If the household has children (members under the age of 18), effective no later than January 1, 2010, then the household has “modified categorical eligibility,” which means that their resources can be above the food stamp resource limit and the household can still be eligible for food stamps. All other food stamp rules still apply. Effective April 1, 2011, all households are considered to be “modified categorically eligible.” ACL 11-11.
  
• All adults in the household must comply with the food stamp program’s work requirements, unless they are exempt.
• In California, all immigrants are eligible for food stamps.