Food Assistance (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

Food Assistance (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

(607) 274-5201

Previously known as Food Stamps, the Federal SNAP program provides low-income households monthly benefits to purchase food. Income and resource standards vary according to age, health, household size and household expenditures.

You or your authorized representative can apply for SNAP either online or by completing a New York State-prescribed form manually and mailing it to or dropping it off at the Department of Social Services.

The following links contain important information:

For more information – including how to file a complaint if you feel that you've been discriminated against – visit the SNAP page on New York State's Office of Family and Disability Assistance website.

Information about the rights of applicants/recipients of this and other public assistance programs which our department administers locally can be found online.

Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD)

Under federal law and regulations, an ABAWD is a SNAP applicant or recipient, aged 18 to 64, who is able to work, does not reside with a child under the age of 14 in the household and does not meet any of the criteria for an exemptions from the general SNAP work requirements and the ABAWD time limit.  

An ABAWD’s eligibility for SNAP is limited to 3 months of benefits in a fixed 3-year period unless the person:

  • meets the ABAWD work rules on a monthly basis;
  • is exempt from the ABAWD time limit;
  • resides in a district or an area within a district with a waiver of the ABAWD time limit;
  • is granted an ABAWD exclusion consistent with the district’s exclusion policy; or
  • qualifies for an additional set of three consecutive months of SNAP benefits referred to as a “grace period”.

To retain SNAP eligibility beyond the 3-month time limit, ABAWDs must:

  1. Spend at least 80 hours every month doing one or more of the following activities:     
    • Working (including “in-kind” work),
    • Participating in a qualifying work/training program approved by the district,
    • Participating in an employment and training program for veterans operated by the Department of Labor or the Department of Veterans Affairs,
    • Participating in a program under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) or the Trade Act which may include job search, job readiness, occupational skills training, and education activities,
  2. Participate in a Work Experience Program (WEP) or volunteer in a community service activity for the number of hours per month equal to the household’s SNAP benefit divided by the higher of the federal or State minimum wage.

For more information about ABAWD and SNAP please see:
Keep Your SNAP Benefits: Three Ways to Meet the ABAWD Work Rules
Helping ABAWDs Can Help Your Community Organization
You're an ABAWD. Now what?

Food Assistance (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - SNAP)/Headstart Update

There has been a change in federal Head Start policy that simplifies the process for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households to be deemed eligible for Head Start programs.

In partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced on April 21, 2022, that SNAP recipients are now considered categorically eligible for Head Start programs.

SNAP Head Start Flyer
SNAP Head Start Flyer (en Español)

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