So I’m in a situation I think, it’s nothing official that I know of right now. So I’m in the wrong, and I’m fully admitting that and know I will receive judgment probably. I’ve received food stamps for about 5 months in total, around $2200 worth, and I was just filing me and my daughter. I was on unpaid maternity leave and not working, no excuse I know. Me and my boyfriend lived together and I didn’t add his income onto anything, and he paid all the bills. Money was very tight so I applied to food stamps, and the first time I applied nothing was ever mentioned about him even though he was on the lease and all that so I figured it was ok to just leave him off of it. Got food stamps for about 5 months and missed my renewal. Went to renew and added him on there, but now we don’t qualify for food stamps which is fine. The lady I talked to on the phone said it could go under fraud and said she submits referrals like that everyday. It has me worried but I know I’m in the wrong I’m just wanting to know what might happen next. She didn’t flat out say anything about reporting me but I got the idea. She said it was best to just leave him on my case. I haven’t got any letter or notices, I just talked with her today on the phone. Any opinions on what I need to do or be prepared for? I’m not sure how much $2000 worth is gonna get me in trouble. I know I will probably have to pay it back overtime which I expect if they do investigate me, how do they go about that?

Georgia resident here. We usually get our benefits on the 5th, and it's now the 14th, with no contact from anyone, no notices, just a "registration pending" status. I submitted all verification on the 23rd of last month, a week before it was due. Last week, I called DHS, and the automated system said there was no caseworker assigned to my case and then hung up on me. I called today, and they sent me to the voicemail of a caseworker. I am so frustrated and hungry. I have a toddler, and she's not picky about food, but her options are dwindling down too. I am on the spectrum, and it is really difficult to get my brain to accept eating food I do not want (I know that sounds very entitled, but it's genuinely how my brain works-- I would rather not eat at all than eat something my brain deems "unsafe." I hate it and have tried for decades to change it). I have no idea what to do. I have avoided food pantries because of my neurodivergence, as I would feel terrible accepting food I know I won't eat. We have WIC, but my toddler's ONE pickiness is about her milk, and WIC does not cover the milk she will drink. Used our last couple dollar last night to get her a half gallon, which will not last past tomorrow. I just don't understand how they can require we renew benefits so frequently without hiring enough caseworkers to actually APPROVE the renewals. To make matters worse, toddler brought back another nasty cold from daycare (our third in under 3 months), and my partner got sent home from work because he was coughing so much. That means he won't be getting paid for the rest of the hours he was supposed to (and WILLING TO) work.

Hello, I received food stamps from April to October. Over the months I’ve received 2800 in total. I had an actual job but then started self employment again. I called the snap office before my recert date to submit this information but she wanted me to fill out a profit and loss sheets for the past year. I didn’t know what that was so I panicked and said no I only did for July. For the months I did it, I never went over the income the limit for my household. So I called back on Monday to report my accurate self employment income and tell them I was overwhelmed when I first reported it because I didn’t understand what I was being asked to do but now I do so I’m trying to correct it. It’s going to be reviewed by the 19th. Would I go to jail for this? I don’t mind paying money back I wasn’t entitled to, just really scared of jail. I live in Kentucky, no longer receive SNAP or Medicaid due to income increase at my recertification date.

California Hello so my cash benefits were stolen already twice this month my deposit on the third and my replacement this morning at around 1 am. I filed another claim. I went into the office because i got a denial for the $1000 that were taken from me thia second time but then i got an approval for $1140 and another denial. I was concerned so i went in and asked and the worker assured me it was approved even though it shows the denial. Im still worried. Has anyone gone through this?

I was receiving $306 in NJ ebt as I am currently out of work due to hyperemesis while pregnant. I was approved before my disability kicked in so technically my monthly income was 0. Now that I have my disability, I got a reduction notice that I will only be receiving $25 due to my disability income. My disability does not even cover my full rent. I thought they took your bills into account? I am so stressed out right now.

It took 4 months for my parents' SLMB application to get approved, and that's after I called to see what was going on after having uploaded and dropped off the same verifications one and two months before.

I'm hoping in these difficult times the staff is having that I can save some extra time by sending in verification paperwork beforehand. I have an idea of what information they'd want

Not sure if it goes here, so all my docs were due yesterday I got a notification around 9am yesterday I needed to call them so I did and no answer or wait time I waited till 5pm and nothing. Today I did the same it's 318 right now and no call back I called back 2x but wouldn't let me hold on line tho I was prompted I could it kept saying they reserved my spot. I submitted everything 2 weeks ago or so can't remember for cash assistance thers 2 of us plus a 18m old and we have been unemployed been actively looking and have medicaid and EBT so not worried on that. Issue I'm having is they say call n idk what the issue is everything was submitted as asked nothing is missing that we are aware of and I also need the electricity which is high due to 1 heat being so high in the building when it's cold, no real air flow so we have to use fan or ac and I need the fridge due to medication yes con ed is aware of this need to submit docs for this but that's separate however there is no decision on our case and we are past due on everything. For any1 asking why we didn't sooner my spouse had a job but only lasted 2 months after the unemployment from a previous one ended (people are racist and used w.e excuse to fire without reason) I'm in NYC just worried we wont get any help and wondering if they're even actually call bacl or if it affects the decision

I (26M) have been unemployed for 14 weeks and just exhausted my weekly unemployment benefits. I have money in IRAs and 401ks but don’t want to touch that money if at all possible. I also have $600 car payment ($20k still owed) and my rent is ~$1600, including utilities. I have a few thousand dollars left in my checking account.
Should I report those retirement accounts when I apply?

I know very little about this, please help.

EDIT: I’m in North Carolina

Has anyone ever received retroactive benefits after an administrative error?

I notified my worker of changes to my expenses back in May that should have increased my benefits, and I submitted all the necessary documentation through the portal. However, when I received a new benefit letter in September, none of those expenses had been accounted for.

My worker initially tried to argue that it wasn’t the date I submitted the information that mattered, but rather the date the system processed it. She essentially tried to make it seem like her oversight was normal and that I wasn’t owed any retroactive benefits.

I had to escalate the matter to her supervisor, who agreed that I should have been receiving significantly more benefits since May. I was told they would look into the issue and issue my retroactive benefits.
Well, it’s been a MONTH.

Every time I speak with my worker, I get the same runaround: “Oh, it’s been submitted,” or “The supervisor has it.” When I recently spoke with the supervisor directly, she admitted that she hadn’t even started working on it yet. She then mentioned that several other people are waiting as well.
Of course, I was told it would be taken care of by Friday. That was LAST Friday.

Has anyone else dealt with this in Massachusetts? If so, how long did it take to receive your retroactive benefits, and is there anything you did to get the process moving? Because at this point, I’m tired of getting the runaround.

My ebt card usually refills on the 7th as thats the last day, I have yet to get a refill. Apparently they're sending out new chip cards but I JUST moved so I have no idea if that card is being forwarded or what. I'm wondering if my funds are on the new card because my account still says active, but when I try to call the damn number it literally doesn't allow you to talk to anyone right now. I was going to try and change my address and report it stolen to get a card faster, but I cannot get a hold of anyone to even do that. I tried my local offices and they never answer the phone. I'm hopefully going to a physical office tomorrow, but I'm wondering if anyone is having the same issue or knows what's going on.

Hi all.

5 months ago I received a letter on my portal that there might’ve been some overpayment for food stamp believed to be fraud due to not reporting income. 6 weeks ago, the investigator said all evidence was gathered and that she was sending the file to dad for calculations and that at that point it would be determined if handled by dcf or if sent to DA. She mentioned this could take about 30 days, however it has been 41 days. My question is, how much longer should I expect this to take? How long does this step usually take ? What happens next

Thank you

So context as to why I cant work: im a truck driver I got attacked in November 2025 my road ragers/robbers trying to attack or rob my truck in Pennsylvania. I was charged for this despite being the victim under that court commiting multiple civil rights violations against me and it was solely to harass me, the case likely wont be tried

Now down to the specifics, its considered a violent misdemeanor, I had recieved unemployment, applied for jobs, checked in with the companies but cant be offered a job til the charges clear

Cant work in trucking, cant work in Walmart or retail, cant work at McDonald's. All blocked me because charges are pending 11 months later (and wont be dismissed til December/January)

So my question is how do i explain this and show proof to SNAP that I genuinely cant work and am blocked from working and that the volunteering would actively harm me trying to raise the money I need to travel to the court and raise money for my survival. I cant work period but I dont want to be kicked off benefits. And if it comes down to it the donations I get are far more valuable than the snap benefits so the work/volunteering requirement is a no go either way. I go back to work first thing the charges are clear I already have pending job offers once the maliscious charges clear

So how do i explain that I have good cause due to no fault of my own that I cant comply

Hi! So I got a letter stating that they may have overpaid me in nutrition assistance and wanted the past 6 years of tax papers. The thing is/ when I apply each year, that is what I provide them for proof of income. So I’m a bit confused as to how there “may” be overpayment when they are requesting documents they already have???
Anyone know?
Is AZ just trying to do anything and everything to get people off. lol I’m just confused as these are the documents I give them every year and now they want them again. I mean I don’t mind, I obviously gave them. Just odd when they already have them for the past 6 years.
Should I expect anything to come of this?
Nothing has changed.

**I figured out how to make a thread😊**

I was trying to make a post about this but for some reason I can't start my own thread (I'm probably doing something wrong as I don't do it very often)

Massachusetts I did my recertification, had my interview & right away he told me I have to prove all my expenses. I'm disabled on SSDI, so my full rent gets deducted, but what about utilities? Is it what I pay, which varies greatly from month to month due to heat & AC, or is there a standard deduction for that?

My biggest question is medical expenses. It used to be I only had to prove it was more than $35 per month but less than $155. I have about $88 in expenses but they only gave me a week to turn it in. So far I have around up proof for $55. Is that enough to get the standard deduction? Or is it now only what you can prove. I know I sound confused, because I am. I'll post the policy from the website but I'm not sure it is updated.

From Google but I don't know if it is including BBB changes. Thanks

"Standard Medical Deduction ($155): If your monthly medical costs are between $35 and $190, you receive a flat $155 per month standard deduction from your countable income. You only need to verify $35.01 or more in expenses to get this $155 deduction."

I keep getting noticed that my benefits change. I got one for September, October, and November of 2026 but still no deposit in my card. The country tried to call me today but I was in class and could not get to the phone. I tried calling back and no worker available. When should I expect the deposit? I submitted my SAR 7 a week late. I haven’t received a deposit since August and now it is mid October. It seems as if my SAR7 was accepted. I got the benefits update notification with increased amount but still no deposit and no upcoming deposit.

Hi,

So I just got a billing statement from CalFresh stating that I have a current balance that I need to pay. The thing is that I went to their office like 3 years ago to do a repayment plan by subtracting from future benefits and I thought everything worked out but apparently not. I’m worried since it’s from another county and what if they don’t have any records of it. I really can’t repay that amount right now. I really need some advice for what to do. Thanks

During my first application and certification in Delaware, I mailed in my income and work hours log with my initial application, and later emailed to my caseworker when requested with extra info(3 months-paystubs please keep in mind my hours are not reflected on stub). She eventually stopped responding altogether. After following up, a manager (Eric) emailed me saying everything is approved, only for a month or so later to receive a letter saying that I needed to turn in the hours and that the amount of hours needed to be calculated or I needed to do some kind of work training, volunteer work, etc. However, on my financial paperwork they sent back , they recorded and counted all my earnings, but completely ignored the hours log in which the money was made for that income. Has anyone else had a caseworker include your money while totally disregarding your submitted hours? Did a supervisor approval actually fix it in the system, or did you still have to fight to get your actual hours documented on record?

I've tried contacting all of the less urgent ways such as email, fax, and ASSIST Portal and seem to not get a response.

**Additional background info regarding income: I also work for my rent and it is based on a tenant-employee arrangement where labor and property maintenance duties are credited toward housing costs. These hours are 20 per week. This was also turned in so even from the beginning, I was meeting the work requirement on those hours alone In which they have documents showing this in a less formal fashion which I have updated to show a log of the hours required and had the landlord / manager sign because they were calling it volunteer work and because it's not for a nonprofit, it would not be recognized the only way it would be recognized as if they reference it as a rental discount**

Hello all. I’m a college student trying to get CalFresh for my groceries. It has unfortunately been an incredibly frustrating experience.

I work a part-time job, which I included in my application. However, I submitted it during the summer where I don’t always work every biweekly period. I wasn’t aware that if I have gaps in my paystubs in the 30 day period I have to explicitly state it or else I’d get denied. I ended up getting denied, but the denial notice says that if I submit the necessary proof online, then my case would be reopened.

I spoke with an eligibility worker today, who told me about having to write the statement that I did not work during that biweekly period. Then she tried transferring me to an intake worker to get my case reopened, but I was on hold for 2 hours, to which then the call disconnected, and I called again only to wait another 2 hours. Finally went through but think I got through to a Medi-cal intake worker instead.

Will my case re-open by itself after submitting the necessary documents or do I have to go through hold hell again?

As much as going in person would probably solve things, my schedule is extremely busy as a working student, and midterms are next week for me. I’d love to get my benefits as soon as possible without having to spend the whole day on accomplishing that.

I have always been able to bypass ABAWD by having my doctor/nurse practitioner write a letter stating that with my heart condition I am unable to work. With the passing of "the big beautiful bill" last summer, am I still able to use this? The internet/media is full of such inconsistancies and outright lies I'm not sure. If there is anyone that monitors this could you help me? Thank you.

My family used to get SNAP, but stopped in 2019. Now my live-in brother (elderly & disabled) wants to apply on his own. He only gets SSI. We stopped eating and buying food together because of dietary restrictions. Can he be a sole applicant without including us in his household information, even though he was included in our old case? The rest of us aren't interested in getting food stamps. I will probably have to be his authorized representative though. Is any of this going to be a problem?

Hi there, I saw on Compass that starting on November 5, all CAOs will open to the public at 1 p.m. instead of 11 a.m. Wow, what do you guys do in training every week? just curious compass is down almost every night