States Where Food Stamps Are Used The Most – Food Stamps Benefits By States

Food stamps are available to citizens in every state in the United States. However, there are States Where Food Stamps Are Used The Most. Food stamps are like relief aids that help to provide food for low-income households or on-income households who are food insecure.

States Where Food Stamps Are Used The Most

It is of fact that almost one in every four American households is reported to being food insecure at some point in 2017. Those who are most likely to be food insecure in the country are those households who can barely feed because of low income or no income at all. Other households with such insecurities are those households with a lot of children, a member or members of the households having disabilities, and also those with elderly family members that are above sixty years of age.

Food Stamps

Food stamps are like tickets to free food from a program called SNAP. The program was formerly known as the Food Stamps Program until it was renamed as SNAP. HOWEVER, it is still being referred to as such up until now. A citizen gains access to food stamps by applying for it in their state of current residence. A form is summited to any of the agencies closest to their area of residence. The form which has been duly signed can also be summited online via the state’s online portal to the local agency office within their area of residence.

After applying for the benefits of the program, an interview would be conducted by the agency. It could be an online interview or a face to face one and in some other cases, a phone call from the agency.

One has to be eligible in order to receive benefits such as food stamps from the program. For a person to be eligible he or she has to meet with all the requirements of the state he or she applied for the benefits. If the state’s requirements are duly met, then the applicant can be deemed eligible to be a recipient of benefits from the program.

Some of the requirements needed in considering if an applicant is eligible or not are as follows;

Maximum gross income of the household.
Presence of elderly members (should be above sixty years of age).
Presence of disabled members in the household.
Employment status of the applicant and that of other members of the house.
Number of persons in the household (family size).
Specification of citizenship.

All these pieces of information is needed especially the family size and maximum income receive. This is important because it helps the agency calculate the maximum amount of benefits (allotment) the household is to receive from the program and also compare the maximum amount of income made by the household with the maximum amount of income allowed by the program. The requirements that deem an applicant eligible to receive food stamps from the program SNAP are different for every state.

If an applicant is deemed eligible by the state, the applicant can receive their benefits (food stamps) as early as seven days after approval. The benefits are sent to the recipients in an EBT card. An EBT card is an Electronic Benefits Transfer card that contains the benefits of a recipient in monetary terms. This card works like a debit card and can be used to authorize payment for purchases of food items directly from the federal account to an eligible store or retailer. These EBT cards replaced the usual food stamps and coupons after the renaming of the program.

Names of States that Use Food Stamps the Most – Food Stamps Benefits By States

A survey was taken and it was noticed that some states make use of food stamps more than others. This is to say that people in some of the states apply more for food stamps benefits and meet the criteria of below 130% federal poverty line. Here is a list of all the states in the country, the percentage of the popular, the number of persons receiving SNAP benefits, and the food stamps redeemed.

New Mexico

Percentage of the population = 21.49%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 450,221
Food stamps redeemed = $619,024,531

Louisiana

Percentage of the population = 17.20%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 801,655
Food stamps redeemed = $1,295,018,497

Mississippi

Percentage of the population = 14.96%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 446,880
Food stamps redeemed = $713,135,677

Oklahoma

Percentage of the population = 14.79%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 583,042
Food stamps redeemed = $811,995,101

Alabama

Percentage of the population = 14.76%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 721,299
Food stamps redeemed = $1,083,457,368

Oregon

Percentage of the population = 14.09%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 590,317
Food stamps redeemed = $882,733,411

Rhode Island

Percentage of the population = 14.01%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 148,087
Food stamps redeemed = $233,917,388

Illinois

Percentage of the population = 14.00%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 1,783,530
Food stamps redeemed = $2,700,949,186

Nevada

Percentage of the population = 13.89%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 421,481
Food stamps redeemed = $628,193,743

Pennsylvania

Percentage of the population = 13.71%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 1,755,663
Food stamps redeemed = $2,568,454,573

New York

Percentage of the population = 13.30%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 2,598,826
Food stamps redeemed = $4,448,544,794

Tennessee

Percentage of the population = 13.06%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 884,025
Food stamps redeemed = $1,397,253,906

Florida

Percentage of the population = 13.01%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 2,770,280
Food stamps redeemed = $5,777,187,686

Delaware

Percentage of the population = 12.95%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 125,239
Food stamps redeemed = $202,051,329

Georgia

Percentage of the population = 12.44%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 1,308,264
Food stamps redeemed = $2,362,433,700

Ohio

Percentage of the population = 11.77%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 1,375,316
Food stamps redeemed = $2,065,801,626

Texas

Percentage of the population = 11.76%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 3,376,727
Food stamps redeemed = $5,836,428,708

Alaska

Percentage of the population = 11.69%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 86,185
Food stamps redeemed = $186,671,667

Maine

Percentage of the population = 11.66%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 156,079
Food stamps redeemed = $215,608,124

South Carolina

Percentage of the population = 11.61%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 590,285
Food stamps redeemed = $964,232,162

Arkansas

Percentage of the population = 11.60%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 349,592
Food stamps redeemed = $494,403,051

Michigan

Percentage of the population = 11.56%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 1,155,683
Food stamps redeemed = $1,900,615,478

Kentucky

Percentage of the population = 11.54%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 515,693
Food stamps redeemed = $879,799,216

Missouri

Percentage of the population = 11.16%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 683,574
Food stamps redeemed = $1,066,784,954

Arizona

Percentage of the population = 11.12%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 797,795
Food stamps redeemed = $1,207,835,668

Massachusetts

Percentage of the population = 11.05%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 762,684
Food stamps redeemed = $1,161,235,795

Hawaii

Percentage of the population = 10.89%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 154,642
Food stamps redeemed = $463,723,986

Washington

Percentage of the population = 10.75%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 810,037
Food stamps redeemed = $1,259,258,321

Vermont

Percentage of the population = 10.73%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 67,195
Food stamps redeemed = $69,950,197

Wisconsin

Percentage of the population = 10.49%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 610,078
Food stamps redeemed = $819,942,881

Connecticut

Percentage of the population = 10.21%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 364,704
Food stamps redeemed = $614,018,043

Maryland

Percentage of the population = 10.18%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 615,096
Food stamps redeemed = $984,423,733

California

Percentage of the population = 10.08%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 3,987,751
Food stamps redeemed = $6,362,195,203

Montana

Percentage of the population = 9.99%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 106,146
Food stamps redeemed = $157,065,208

Iowa

Percentage of the population = 9.90%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 312,501
Food stamps redeemed = $451,137,429

South Dakota

Percentage of the population = 9.08%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 80,139
Food stamps redeemed = $125,887,546

Nebraska

Percentage of the population = 8.23%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 158,755
Food stamps redeemed = $234,040,337

Virginia

Percentage of the population = 8.22%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 699,837
Food stamps redeemed = $1,087,408,917

Idaho

Percentage of the population = 8.17%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 143,236
Food stamps redeemed = $206,827,509

Indiana

Percentage of the population = 7.78%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 520,463
Food stamps redeemed = $909,202,585

New Jersey

Percentage of the population = 7.75%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 690,789
Food stamps redeemed = $1,070,141,160

Colorado

Percentage of the population = 7.74%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 440,612
Food stamps redeemed = $672,250,442

Minnesota

Percentage of the population = 7.20%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 404,212
Food stamps redeemed = $514,410,616

Kansas

Percentage of the population = 6.86%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 199,622
Food stamps redeemed = $301,508,197

North Dakota

Percentage of the population = 6.32%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 48,043
Food stamps redeemed = $82,623,600

New Hampshire

Percentage of the population = 5.44%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 73,775
Food stamps redeemed = $134,546,170

Utah

Percentage of the population = 5.34%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 168,772
Food stamps redeemed = $256,424,261

West Virginia

Percentage of the population = 5.26%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 305,640
Food stamps redeemed = $416,581,435

Wyoming

Percentage of the population = 4.39%
Number of people receiving SNAP benefits = 25,349
Food stamps redeemed = $42,410,177

The list above puts in a descending order of the states where food stamps are used the most. This puts New Mexico first as the state where food stamps are most used.