MOIA - Food Stamp Program

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	The Food Stamp Program provides coupons and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards to low-income families to buy food. This is a federal program operated by State and local welfare offices. You can go to any Human Resources Administration (HRA) Job Center or Food Stamp Office to apply for food stamps. Please note that New York State provides food assistance for immigrants no longer eligible for federal food stamp benefits. They are available through existing job and food stamp centers. How do you know if you are a qualified immigrant? Qualified immigrants include: lawful permanent residents (holders of a green card) refugees asylees persons granted withholding of deportation or removal persons granted parole into the United States for at least one year conditional entrants Cuban/Haitian Entrants certain Amerasian immigrants from Vietnam certain battered spouses, their parents, and/or children certain victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons Does the law change the rules for immigrants who are already eligible? No. Everyone who was eligible before continues to be eligible now. What if your children are eligible but you are not. Can you still apply for them on their behalf? Absolutely. You do not have to be a legal resident in the United States to apply for others in your household. However, you must document your income, resources, and expenses. There are 20 Food Stamp offices in New York City, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Your application can take up to 30 days to be processed, but if you have an emergency you may be eligible for an emergency benefit within five days. If you apply for public assistance at a job center, you will fill out a Food Stamp application at the same time. Visit the HRA Web site for a list of NYC job centers. All Food Stamp offices are now required to translate all materials into Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Haitian-Creole, French, Arabic, Korean, Vietnamese, and Yiddish. If you need an interpreter, be sure you tell the office, and they will provide one for you free of charge. Locations of Food Stamp Offices (in PDF)