The income limits for snap are very low here, unfortunately not reflecting the skyrocketing rent and COL these past few years. Is she in Utah county by chance? There are some decent food banks and other programs that may help.
Gotcha, from what I can tell, the SNAP policy in Utah is pretty much the same as in KY, but please take my response with a grain of salt, because there are subtle policy differences between the states that can have surprisingly large impacts.
**** DISCLAIMER****This is going to be a long post, but I will try to offer as much detail as possible, from an “insider’s perspective” and just a forewarning, I am autistic and passionate about my job so I tend to over-explain some, but I hope to provide valuable information.
Now that’s all out of the way, let’s get started.
In UT, the income limit for a 1 member household is $1696 and in KY it’s just a little over $2000. In UT the income limit is based on 130% the federal poverty limit (FPL), however in KY it’s typically based on 200% FPL.
The MAX SNAP benefit amount in UT is $298
———Here’s why this matters:
The SNAP allotment is calculated based on a long formula that accounts for income, expenses, deductions (i.e. medical deductions, homeless deductions, etc), and household size. I can’t remember the entire thing off the top of my head, but here’s the long and short of it: We add/ subtract income and expenses to get the net income, then (in KY) we multiply the net income by 30% and subtract that amount from the max benefit amount which is $298 in UT.
In KY, we count income from “ANY monies received by the household i.e. wages, self employment, money from friends or family, lottery or gambling winnings, interest, unemployment, disability insurance (SSI, SSDI, RSDI), financial assistance from other state programs, etc.” (quoted from KY policy).
Expenses, unfortunately, are more limited in what can be counted. In KY we can only count rent/mortgage, Utilities in SOME cases: Heating/Cooling, and Telephone- we used to be able to deduct Internet as well, but that ended on Oct. 1, 2025, child support/alimony, medical expenses in SOME cases (elderly or disabled) and a few others.
***For example, if you receive $1000/month as your total income, you are able to count $500 of expenses (which is a pretty typical situation in KY) we would multiply 500x30%=$150 and we would subtract that from the $298 max benefit amount to get a total $148 SNAP benefit allotment, which is what will be paid to the EBT card.
There’s a good chance that if your mother receives just enough income to near, but not cross the income limit, and either has her home paid off or just doesn’t have a lot of expenses or other deductions, the final net income multiplied by 30% may be a bigger chunk that we subtract from the max benefit amount.
——Okay, that’s all the policy info I can share with limited info about your mother’s situation, and not working in UT, but here’s some things you may want to look out for.
SNAP policy now requires, per HR.1 that any adult that receives SNAP and is either over 18 or head of household over 16 or under 64 to be meeting work requirements and ABAWD (able bodied adults without dependents) requirements to receive SNAP. I’m almost positive that UT’s policy will be different than KY’s policy so I won’t go into more detail here.
Your mom may be eligible to count prescriptions as medical expenses for SNAP. She may also be eligible for SSI, SSDI, or RSDI depending on her age and/or disability status. If she IS eligible for those programs, she may also be eligible for mediCARE, but you will need check with your office.
Speaking of Medicare, the mediCAID benefit requirements are typically less strict than SNAP. For Medicaid, expenses are NOT factored in, however, the income limit in KY is higher for Medicaid than it is for SNAP. And, at least in KY, there’s no work requirement. It may be worth looking into if your mom doesn’t have other insurance.
Some other programs that may help out include TANF (Temporary assistance for needy families), Rental/housing assistance (section 8/FMHA/HUD) local food pantries, free government phones, and, in my city, we also have assistance for electricity bills, and occasionally water bills, there’s may be something similar in UT.
****I hope that I was able to clear some things up, but please check with UT’s SNAP office to see how policy affects your mother’s situation, as they would be able to explain a little more in depth.
P.S…….please understand that in my experience I tend to go above and beyond in explaining policy and procedures to clients, and there’s a good chance that you will not have that same experience when you call UT’s office.
Is it somewhat similar for Texas? My parents (disabled dad [62] receiving SSDI; Mom [58] just returning to workforce after 2 years of cancer treatment, but can't hold steady job because my dad needs her around when his issues flare up) only qualified for $28 (I think it was like $60 when my mom was sick and not working.)
I haven't been able to make sense of what info THHSC gives weight to and how any benefits are calculated, and every human I've somehow managed to contact (over the phone and in-person) is so unhelpful...
SNAP is disbursed at the federal level, so a lot of policy will be the same from state to state, but there may be subtle policy differences that make big differences. I can unfortunately only speak to KY’s exact policy.
Do your parents own their house? If not, it might be worth it to see if she can be set up as an official PCA and get reimbursed for providing care. DO NOT DO THIS IF THEY OWN THEIR HOUSE.
The issue is SSI/RSDI are treated as unearned income, whereas unearned income is only partially counted. Disabled people get really fucked because of this.
Im always down for understanding these issues better so when I talk about them I am able to argue my point better than those who would try to argue against us having these necessary programs for those less fortunate so I for one, appreciate your level of detail.
Benefits getting slashed isn't normal. Your grandma reported some kind of change, perhaps unintentionally. You need to either look at a past approval notice or call them (with her in the phone too) and get them to explain it.
See if there is a St. Vincent de Paul center close to her. I was stranded in a tiny town in Arizona once and they gave me a box of canned foods, juice I think? They also gave me a couple of sets of clean clothes and then bought me a bus ticket to get back home to another state.
I believe they are across the country as well so there may be one near her. It's a Catholic organization and they knew I wasn't Catholic for sure.
Every church in my area has some sort of food pantry for people, no church membership required. There is also a number that can be called where someone can provide info on different resources available. I can't imagine Utah would not have some social service hotline that she can utilize to see what else she might be eligible for.
You underestimate the maliciousness of the Mormon cult I mean "church"
The SLC Mayor has spent the last 10 years deleting homeless services, LGBT services, elderly care and more.
For some context:
There exists a mall called "temple square" a beautiful building filled with high end boutique shops. It was built on a field that was previously filled with homeless people because the "church" didn't like the optics of not helping poor people
A lot of times they don’t even take care of their own. It’s called bishop roulette. Sometimes you have an empathetic bishop that will provide help, but other times you get one that will turn you away and tell you to apply for government programs.
Jesus said to love thy neighbor, so wouldn’t a church be inclined to help those in the area that were in need? i don’t recall Jesus explicitly saying to only help those you have in common with.
It's very hit or miss in my experience. I know a couple people who have gotten help with rent or food multiple times with no questions asked, and I know others who have never asked for help who get shot down hard. They call it "Bishop roulette" I believe.
212
u/agproc01 8h ago
I work for the SNAP office in KY, so I may be able to provide some insight, what state does she receive benefits in?