Food Stamps Program
Food Stamps Program The United States Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), historically and commonly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal-assistance program that provides assistance to low- and no-income people living in the U.S. Benefits are distributed by the individual U.S. states, but the program is administered through the U.S.Department of Agriculture. Most food-stamp benefits are now distributed using cards but for most of its history the program had actually used paper denominational stamps/coupons worth US$1, US$5, and US$10. These stamps could be used to purchase any prepackaged edible foods regardless of nutritional value (for example soft drinks and confectionery could be purchased on food stamps). In the late 1990s, the food-stamp program was revamped and actual stamps were phased out in favor of a specialized debit-card system known as Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) provided by private contractors. Many states merged the use of the EBT card for pu...