You can apply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP):

• Online using Colorado PEAK. You can also use Colorado PEAK to check your eligibility for SNAP and other benefits.
• Using the MyCOBenefits app available from Google Play or Apple’s App Store.
• Using a paper application for benefits: print it, fill it out, and then either mail or fax it to your local county human services department. There are application forms in English, Spanish, and large print.
• In person at your local county human services department.

When you apply for SNAP, you may need to provide documentation of:

• Your citizenship status
• Any roommates or family living in your home. Note: If you use personal care attendants, you do not need to include them as members of your household.
• Your disability
• Your income
• Your resources
• Your medical expenses, and
• Housing or shelter costs.

Once you have applied for SNAP, the county human services office may call you for an eligibility or fact-finding interview. Your application is processed within 30 days from the date of your application.

Appeals

If your application is denied or you do not agree with a decision that was made, you can contact your county human services department. They might just need more information from you. If you cannot resolve the issue, you can file an appeal.

Reporting Changes in your Life Circumstances

You must tell SNAP when your income, resources, or living situation changes. Always report these changes by the 10^th of the month following the change, so that you don’t run into problems with your SNAP benefits. Your local county human services department will give you instructions on how to report changes and you can also report changes online through Colorado PEAK.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is for people who meet income limits and other requirements to get help paying for their food. When you apply for SNAP, you need to give details about how much money everyone in your household makes. If you make more money than the program allows, you don't qualify for SNAP.

Eligibility may also depend on things like if you (or someone in your household) has a disability or is 60 years old or older. This article focuses on the rules for people with disabilities.

Income and Resources

If you have a disability or are 60 years old or older, the state looks at your income and household composition to decide if you qualify for SNAP.

Note: If you use personal care or live-in attendants that help you in your home, they may be considered members of your SNAP household depending on how you are related. Personal care or live-in attendants are considered mandatory members of your SNAP household if they are your spouse, your child under 22 years old, or a child under the age of 18 under your parental care and control.

The Resource Limit

Resources are things you own, like a car, home, or money in the bank. To get SNAP, you must stay below the resource limit by having a limited number of resources. In general, the resource limit for people with disabilities is $4,500. The home you live in and one vehicle are not counted as resources.

Note: If your disability began before you turned 26, you can open an ABLE account where you can save up to $18,000 each year and that money will not be counted as resources by SNAP. Learn more about ABLE accounts.

Gross and Net Income Limits

The SNAP income limits depend on the size of your household. There are two limits and if your household income is below one of them, you may qualify for benefits:

• The gross income limit is 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). Gross income includes all of your household income, before taxes and deductions.
• The net income limit is 100% of FPG. Net income is your gross income minus the allowable deductions described below.

Deductions

To figure out your net income for SNAP, take your gross household income and subtract the following deductions if they apply to your household:

• 20% of your earned income
• A standard deduction of $198 if three or fewer people live in your home, or $208 if four or more people live in your home
• A dependent care deduction when needed for work, training, or education
• Medical expenses for elderly or disabled members that are more than $35 for the month if they are not paid by insurance or someone else
• Legally owed child support payments
• Depending on your income, you may also deduct utilities, rent, or mortgage payments and interest, and taxes on your home.

See the full list of possible deductions.

SNAP Income and Benefits Guidelines

Number of people in your household:	12345678
SNAP guidelines for your household:
	$15,060
	$5,380
	$292
	$536
	$768
	$975
	$1,158
	$1,390
	$1,536
	$1,756
Gross income limit per month (200% FPG)
Net income limit per month (100% FPG)
Maximum monthly benefit

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The Benefit Amount

If you qualify for benefits, SNAP calculates how much you get in benefits each month. The amount you get is based on the maximum benefit for a household of your size, your household’s net income, and other factors.

If your household has no monthly net income, SNAP may give the maximum benefit amount for a household of your size. Note: Household size is based on the number of eligible household members; some household members may not be eligible.

If you do have net income, SNAP expects you to spend 30% of it on food. This means that for every $100 in net income, SNAP expects you to spend $30 on food. SNAP gives you the maximum monthly benefit minus the amount they expect you to spend on food.

Formula for Monthly Benefit Amount:

Maximum amount from the guidelines

Minus your net income x 0.3

= Your SNAP benefit amount

Tim lives alone and gets income from Social Security benefits and work. His net income is $500. After he deducts his medical expenses and shelter allowance, his benefits amount is calculated like this:

Tim's SNAP benefit calculation:

Maximum benefit amount from the guidelines	$292
Earned income	500.00
Minus (0.3 x $500)	-
Tim's Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) food benefit

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) puts your monthly benefit on the Colorado EBT card, which works like a debit card. The Colorado EBT Card can be used wherever you see the “QUEST” logo outside a grocery store or merchant. Many farmers markets also accept SNAP benefits.

You can use SNAP benefits to buy:

• Foods for the household to eat, such as:
  • Breads and cereals
  • Fruits and vegetables
  • Meats, fish, and poultry
  • Dairy products, and
• Seeds and plants which produce food for the household to eat.

SNAP benefits cannot be used to buy:

• Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco
• Any nonfood items, such as:
  • Pet foods
  • Soaps
  • Paper products
  • Household supplies
• Vitamins and medicines
• Food to be eaten in the store or hot foods, and
• Food in a restaurant.

See the complete rules on how to use the EBT card, including stores where it cannot be used.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) gives free food to people with low income, through soup kitchens or food banks. TEFAP gives an extra food box, on top of your SNAP benefits. If you get SNAP, you automatically qualify for TEFAP.

Learn more about TEFAP, including ways you might get it even if you don’t get SNAP.

Get more info about TEFAP:

• The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a TEFAP website.
• View a full list of TEFAP distribution partners in Colorado, including when they distribute food boxes.
• Food Bank of the Rockies lets you search for a food bank.

Marcela's Story

Marcela lives with her husband, brother, and two children. She works part-time for a local community center. Her brother was in a car accident several years back and since then, injuries from the accident have limited him to working just a few hours per week.

Even so, Marcela’s family never had trouble making ends meet until Marcela’s husband was laid off from his job. They were still able to pay for rent, but money got tight. Marcela decided that they needed help paying for food.

Her first step was to learn about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at the Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS) SNAP webpage. Next, she called the DHS information line at 1-303-866-5700 to get more info about SNAP.

Applying for SNAP

Marcela applied for SNAP online using Colorado PEAK. On the application, she stated her family’s income, resources, and living situation. The website also gave Marcela a list of documents she may need to give the county human services department, so Marcela gathered her pay stubs, bank records, and other proof of her family’s income and situation in case they needed it.

About a week after turning in the application, Marcela got a letter from her county human services department saying that she may qualify for SNAP, but she had to do an interview first. During the interview, they discussed Marcela’s brother’s disability and so when SNAP figured how much Marcela’s family should get in benefits, they deducted the money Marcela’s family spent on medical care for her brother from their family income. That meant they’d get more SNAP than they otherwise would.

Using SNAP

About two weeks after her phone interview, Marcela got a letter saying that her family had been approved for $400 a month in SNAP benefits. This was the maximum benefit amount for households of five ($1,158), minus the net income that Marcela had from her job. She also got her Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card in the mail, along with instructions about how to use it.

Before she went to the store, Marcela set up her Colorado PEAK account for SNAP using her case information on her approval letter. She then used the MyCOBenefits app on her phone to see how much she had in SNAP benefits on her EBT card. That way, she knew how much she could spend on food at the store.

The first time she went to the store, Marcela looked in the window to make sure it had the “QUEST” logo; that way her EBT Card would work. She picked up some groceries and when she reached the cashier, she pulled out her EBT Card and paid for her food items with her SNAP benefits without any problems.

Then, she went to the local farmers market, which participated in the Double Up Food Bucks program, meaning she could get a great deal on fruits and veggies. She knew it was apple season and some ripe apples would go great with breakfast.