Hoosiers May Now Qualify For Food Stamps, Even If They Didn't Get Approved Before

STATEWIDE -- You might be eligible for food stamps during the pandemic, even if you weren't eligible before.

The income limit for free and reduced school lunches is higher than the cutoff for food stamps -- 13-thousand dollars a year higher for a family of four. But since kids can't go to school right now, they're not getting those meals. U-S-D-A has granted Indiana permission to expand food-stamp eligibility to those families.

You don't have to do anything to apply -- you'll get an electronic benefit card in the mail automatically.

The amount of food stamp benefits is normally reduced in proportion to the amount you're earning. That offset has been suspended. That's a raise in benefits of up to 800 bucks a month for a family of four.

Family and Social Services Secretary Jennifer Sullivan says the expansions will stay in place until Indiana's public health emergency ends. She says applications have more than tripled in the last six weeks.

Sullivan says one change prompted by the pandemic will continue even after things go back to normal: the state will now offer a delivery option for groceries purchased with food stamps.