In today’s post we will outline how to apply for food stamps in South Carolina online. Food stamps are a part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that provides monthly benefits to help low-income households purchase the food they need for good health.
The food assistance program helps those people who are working and need help to stretch their income to purchase food for their household.
SNAP is a federal program administered on the local level by the South Carolina Department of Social Services. SNAP is the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net. The program is meant to be a supplement to one’s income to help ensure nutritional needs are met.
South Carolina SNAP Benefits
In order to be eligible for SNAP benefits in South Carolina, you must first meet certain requirements. Eligibility for SNAP benefits are based on monthly income, expenses and the number of people living in your household.
The income limit for SNAP is approximately 130 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). For example, a family of three whose income is $26,124 per year ($2,177 per month) or less may qualify for benefits.
A single person who earns $15,312 per year ($1,276/month) or less may qualify for SNAP. The average monthly SNAP benefit in South Carolina is $261. To find out whether you qualify to receive food assistance in South Carolina, please refer to the monthly income limit chart below.
If you’re eligible to receive food assistance in South Carolina, your benefits will be distributed through the state’s Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system.
This system is a way of delivering Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to a plastic, debit-like card called an EBT card. Recipients can access their SNAP benefits at approved retail Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals.
The South Carolina EBT card can be used at any participating store displaying the EBT logo. Each South Carolina SNAP approved household will be issued an EBT card. Your benefits are delivered to your EBT card on the same day each month (including weekends and holidays).
Benefits can be used to purchase food such as breads and cereals, non-alcoholic beverages, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, dairy products and more. For a full list of eligible items, check out the list here.
If you wish to receive SNAP benefits, you can apply online, in person at your local Department of Social Services (DSS), or by mail or fax.
To apply in person, mail or fax, please contact your local county DSS office. To apply online, follow our step-by-step guide below on how to apply for food stamps in South Carolina online.
How to Apply for Food Stamps in South Carolina Online
Step 1 – Do you qualify to receive SNAP Benefits?
Before going through the process of applying for benefits, it’s important that you determine whether you are eligible to receive SNAP benefits in South Carolina.
To see if you qualify, use the SNAP pre-screening tool, available through the South Carolina Multi-Agency Partnership Portal. This tool will help you see what benefits you might receive.
To complete the pre-screening tool, please access the following page and fill out the form. You will be asked to answer questions about your income, expenses and the people in your house. It’s important that you have that information ready.
Step 2 – Apply for South Carolina SNAP Benefits
Once you’ve completed the pre-screening tool, the next step is to submit your SNAP application. To apply online, visit the through the South Carolina Multi-Agency Partnership Portal and click “Apply Now.”
Your SNAP application should include as much information related to your household’s monthly expenses and income as possible, as well as information for all members of your SNAP household.
The application should take 30 minutes or less for you to complete – depending on the size of your household. Once you’ve completed the application, please submit it for processing.
Step 3 – Complete an Interview
Once your application has been received, your local county office will contact you to set up an interview (in-person or over the phone) to review your application.
At the time of your interview, the county official will attempt to verify all information provided on your application during your SNAP interview. They may also request additional information from the household in the event that the information you provided cannot be verified during the interview.
The county official will let you know what information you will need to provide during the interview. If you need assistance obtaining this information, please discuss this at the time of the interview.
This step is a required interview process that must be completed in order to receive SNAP benefits in South Carolina. All information is confidential.
Step 4 – South Carolina EBT Card
If you’ve made it to step four then that means you’ve been approved to receive SNAP benefits in the state of South Carolina! You’ll be receiving your debit-like South Carolina EBT card in the mail in a few days.
Your card is to be used exactly like a debit card at point-of-sale terminals. Be sure to set up your 4-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) once your EBT card is received in the mail. Do not share this number with anyone.
If you wish to know the current balance on your EBT card, you can find out the balance of your EBT card at any time using any of the following options:
- Logging into your South Carolina EBT account, here.
- Performing a “balance-inquiry-only” transaction on the POS terminal at the grocery store.
- Reviewing the last EBT transaction receipt. Your current account balance will be printed on the bottom of each EBT receipt.
For more help on how to check your South Carolina EBT Card balance, check out our post here.
Apply for Food Stamps in South Carolina Summary
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If you have additional questions about the South Carolina SNAP or EBT, please leave those in the comments section below. We are here to help you!
Be sure to check out our other articles about South Carolina Food Stamps and EBT, including:
- How to Check South Carolina EBT Card Balance
- Income Limit for South Carolina Food Stamps
- South Carolina EBT Card Discounts & Free Admissions
- How to apply for Food Stamps in South Carolina Online
- Grocery Stores that Accept EBT online
- How to Get 50% off Amazon Prime with EBT