<p>a full time DEPENDENT college student (about age 20) mentioned qualifying for federal food stamps because of his low income. His parents aren't low income. The are upper-middle income .</p>
<p>I thought dependent college kids didn't qualify for food stamps (because, heck, they'd all qualify).</p>
<p>Also, when I was in school (70’s), you couldn’t qualify if you lived in a dorm; you had to have a kitchen.</p>
<p>I want to make clear to others…I’m not talking about a student from a low income family…that may be a different story.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/489375-additional-federal-aid-work-study-students-food-stamps.html?highlight=food+stamps#post5730896[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/489375-additional-federal-aid-work-study-students-food-stamps.html?highlight=food+stamps#post5730896</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/applicant_recipients/eligibility.htm[/url]”>http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/applicant_recipients/eligibility.htm</a></p>
<p>"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) eliminated the time limit for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) during the period from April 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010, unless a State chooses to offer a qualifying work activity. </p>
<p>Generally ABAWDS between 18 and 50 who do not have any dependent children can get SNAP benefits only for 3 months in a 36-month period if they do not work or participate in a workfare or employment and training program other than job search. This requirement is waived in some locations. </p>
<p>With some exceptions, able-bodied adults between 16 and 60 must register for work, accept suitable employment, and take part in an employment and training program to which they are referred by the local office. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in disqualification from the Program. "</p>
<p>:O they can if they get work study and dont buy school meal plan if i understand this right:</p>
<p>[Can</a> I get SNAP/Food Stamps if I am in college? - MassLegalHelp](<a href=“Search | MassLegalHelp”>SNAP Eligibility Rules/Rights for College Students | Mass Legal Services)</p>
<p>We could in MI up until recently if we didn’t have a meal plan, now we can’t anymore regardless of dependent status so I am told. </p>
<p>My boyfriend has spent the last six weeks with no food because his campus job ended for the summer, it’s impossible to find someone to hire you for 6 weeks, and there is no cafeteria for summer semester. His parents don’t give him money. He had EBT up until he wasn’t allowed to anymore, which was unfortunate. My mother has had to feed him.</p>
<p>For those of us whose parents claim us as dependents and just flat out refuse to support education, things like this are a serious issue. I couldn’t use my meal plan last year because of my food allergies and had no money for food, but didn’t apply for EBT since I was required to buy the meal plan even though I couldn’t use it. I ate nothing but bagels and soup for a year. My parents weren’t paying for my schooling and I paid all of my living expenses by myself.</p>
<p>A quick Google search shows that WA and DC (and most likely other states) have laws that allow all Federal Work Study students to qualify for food stamps.
WA: [WAC</a> 388-482-0005: How does being a student impact my eligibility for the Washington Basic Food program?](<a href=“Chapter 388-482 WAC:”>WAC 388-482-0005:)
[Student</a> Status](<a href=“http://www.dshs.wa.gov/manuals/eaz/sections/StudentStatus.shtml]Student”>http://www.dshs.wa.gov/manuals/eaz/sections/StudentStatus.shtml)
DC: <a href=“http://www.dchunger.org/pdf/student_foodstamp_flyer_09.pdf[/url]”>http://www.dchunger.org/pdf/student_foodstamp_flyer_09.pdf</a></p>
<p>The relevant WA code (WAC 388-482-0005) does state:
</p>
<p>When I was a college student away from home for the first time, I found myself without a job, car (it broke down), or place to live (school was out but I had planned to stay in my college town). I had a job for a few weeks but my boss took off and never paid any of us; it was a weird situation that my parents warned me about but I was young and stupid. I lived in dorms of friends who were in summer school and I ate pb & j sandwiches from the cafeteria that they brought me until I just had to call my parents and ask them to send me money to start me over again. I never would have thought about getting food stamps but I think I knew my parents would eventually bail me out. (They had to do it again when I had major knee surgery and had to come home for a quarter)</p>
<p>Emaheevul07 - It looks like there is a lot of misinformation out there on the changes that Michigan made recently - the reporting on this is just terrible! I don’t think there is any such thing as decent journalism in this country anymore.
From what I can gather after having spent a couple of hours online researching food stamps and college students and trying to look at the facts behind the stories about Michigan changing student eligibility requirements, this is what think the truth is:</p>
<p>All states must follow federal guidelines in terms of eligibility requirements, however they can <em>broaden</em>eligibility if they wish. It doesn’t look like they can restrict eligibility, from what I can tell (not absolutely positive on this, though). It seems that until recently, MI had broader than usual eligibility for college students - if you were in college and had an “educational plan” or some such, it was very easy to qualify. It looks like what the recent legislation did was close that particular loophole, BUT students who meet federal eligibility guidelines still qualify. (Some MI legislator introduced a bill that students who are dependents of their parents can not be eligible - but it looks like this bill is still in committee. To me, I’m not even sure that it would pass muster with the feds if it DID pass, since it would significantly restrict eligiblity relative to the Federal rules)</p>
<p>The link in ilikepizza’s post just above yours gives good info for college students in terms ofthe eligibility requirements</p>
<p>See also:
<a href=“http://www.masslegalhelp.org/income-benefits/food-stamps/advocacy-guide/appendixc/mlri-college-student-faq.pdf[/url]”>http://www.masslegalhelp.org/income-benefits/food-stamps/advocacy-guide/appendixc/mlri-college-student-faq.pdf</a>
[What</a> if I am a college student? - MassLegalHelp](<a href=“http://www.masslegalhelp.org/income-benefits/food-stamps/advocacy-guide/part2/q34-college-student]What”>http://www.masslegalhelp.org/income-benefits/food-stamps/advocacy-guide/part2/q34-college-student) (be sure to click on the links in the 2nd-to-last paragraph for details as to “what income is not counted” and “how does DTA count the income…” and the EDUC-1 form that verfies how much financial aid you get and what it’s allocated for.</p>
<p>Basically, if you’re a full-time student living off-campus who has any type of work-study income, OR who works 20 or more hours/wk OR who has a dependent child, there is a good chance that you’ll be eligible (provided you meet the income limitations and have less than $2000 of countable assets. Be sure to read the links re: what is countable income and what is countable assets.)</p>
<p>Basically, if you’re a full-time student living off-campus who has any type of work-study income, OR who works 20 or more hours/wk OR who has a dependent child, there is a good chance that you’ll be eligible (provided you meet the income limitations and have less than $2000 of countable assets.</p>
<p>NO wonder the country is going broke when rules like this get made…and states are allowed to broaden the definition so that their state residents can get MORE fed dollars. States should NOT be allowed to do this…that is crazy. </p>
<p>Frankly, maybe this should be more widely known and then gazillions of qualifying students will be upping the demands for food stamps and this crazy loophole will get closed.</p>
<p>[Universities</a> encourage students to enroll in food stamp program | The Daily Caller](<a href=“Universities encourage students to enroll in food stamp program | The Daily Caller”>Universities encourage students to enroll in food stamp program | The Daily Caller) </p>
<p>[Portland</a> State Healthy Campus | Nutrition, it’s a SNAP!](<a href=“http://www.pdx.edu/healthycampus/nutrition-its-snap]Portland”>http://www.pdx.edu/healthycampus/nutrition-its-snap) </p>
<p>I’m really shocked to learn about this.</p>
<p>so if you live on campus and a dependent, and have work study, you can get food stamps even if your financial aid is enough? I wonder how many people know about this</p>
<p>Look at it this way - not just any lazy rich college kid can get this. You have to be on work-study , which is NEED-BASED, or be working 20 hours a week or more - which is a substantial amount of time for a full-time student to be putting in. 8-12 hours/week is pretty doable; 20 not so much.
So this kind of sweetens the deal (kind of like extra financial aid) for kids who have enough need to get work study, or who are working quite hard at an outside job. </p>
<p>Also consider that there are a LOT of kids like emaheevul whose parents are not willing to kick in a dime to help their student, even though they are claiming them as a dependent.</p>
<p>If these students lived in the vast majority of other western democracies, their tuition would be free, or nearly so.</p>
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<p>I know a number of students with work-study awards who don’t have an on-campus job - e.g. they were awarded work study but essentially don’t use it. From my understanding of this policy (and I could be wrong), such students would still qualify. Additionally, while the students with most need certainly have work study, and I don’t doubt that they work extremely hard, at least at my college, I know a number of middle-class students with work study whose parents may not be able to pay full fare, but they are indeed able to provide students with food, spending money, etc. </p>
<p>Not to say that I wish I qualified for food stamps, that those college students who do don’t deserve it, etc. - I’m just making some observations from my personal experience with friends who have work study at my college. </p>
<p>Perhaps I’m just bitter, though - finding an on-campus job without work study is a near impossible feat. I don’t have work study, and it took me a full semester before I finally found my (admittedly awesome) job as a peer tutor - but that meant a semester of unpaid training, before finally starting paid employment in the fall (or the summer in my case), and was a result of my fortunately earning the requisite grades. I’m certainly lucky and fortunate that my parents are in a fairly comfortable financial situation, but I do need a way to earn my spending money, etc., so I guess I do get a little annoyed when I see those with work study not bothering to apply for/take the plentiful work study jobs…</p>
<p>You actually have to be working in a work-study job in order to qualify (there are conditions in terms of assets and income that have to be met too.)</p>
<p>Oh, in my post #13 I forgot to mention that another thing that would qualify a college student would be having a dependent child under age 12.<br>
I think any one with any kind of a heart would agree that such students have a pretty tough row to hoe.</p>
<p>My question is this–why can/are these parents still claiming the kids as dependents, if they are not supporting them? I understand that they’re dependent by FAFSA standards, but if the parents aren’t supporting them, then it would seem to be fraud for them to claim them on their taxes. So these should be students who are independent from a tax point of view, which is the one that gov’t services would go by.</p>
<p>As far as w/s–my son was offered federal workstudy his last two years of college. We still had a decent family income and a lot of assets–we were at least middle income, and as our dependent, it would have been egregious for him to have been able to collect food stamps. That program should be for people who need it; clearly he didn’t, but apparently he would have been eligible? That’s how you kill a program for the people who really need it.</p>
<p>I love CC! We are really struggling and still have our house so can not get food stamps but can not afford to send daughter money for food. She is in an apartment now and has no meal plan. She has Federal work study so I guess that she would qualify. </p>
<p>Question:</p>
<p>She is going to school in Florida (has a work study paid job doing research this summer on campus) but we live in NJ. Her permanent address would be NJ I guess. Where would she apply? Fl or NJ?</p>
<p>If I were her I would try Florida first. It looks like a few states are sticklers on the “residency” thing, but these criteria are often relaxed a bit if one just needs food assistance (and is not applying for things like Medicaid or other assistance).
From a pragmatic standpoint, it would be difficult for her to apply from afar.
She should be eligible in FL (depending on income, assets, expenses) especially since she is living there year-round this year.</p>
<p>Good luck to her and your family in these tough times.</p>
<p>My mistake - thanks, MomCat2! That makes a lot more sense to me; I must have missed that the first time around. </p>
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<p>Right, that’s what I was thinking - certainly, there are plenty of work study students who could benefit from this policy, and rightfully so, but from my personal experience, there are also many students with work study who certainly don’t truly need the assistance of food stamps (even those who actually do take the work study jobs).</p>