Fact-checking claim about Ohio SNAP benefit eligibility (2024)

Following a modest annual cost-of-living adjustment, previously ineligible Ohio residents might qualify for benefits from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

But the eligibility expansion is not as sweeping as some social media users claimed.

"Ohio department of job and family has upped the threshold for snap (food stamp benefits)," read one Sept. 6 Facebook post. "Beginning now these are the new cut offs! Now, a family of three can make up to $3,660 a month and it used to be $2,700 so it’s gone up almost $1,000 a month. If you didn’t qualify before you may qualify now, check the chart below."

An image featuring household size and corresponding income thresholds was attached to the post.

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

(Screenshot from Facebook.)

The chart shared in the Facebook post appears to have originated on Snapscreener.com, a website that says it helps people determine whether they’re eligible for SNAP benefits. The site said it takes its information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state SNAP resources, but cautioned it is an unofficial resource "not affiliated with any government organization."

Snapscreener.com claimed its Ohio information covers eligibility requirements from Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022. That’s fiscal year 2022.

But the Facebook user’s screenshot of the chart left out necessary context that Snapscreener.com had included. The site’s chart said it showed eligibility requirements in situations where "any household members are elderly or disabled." Those limits are higher than limits for households where that is not the situation.

The general eligibility requirements the Facebook post purported to share do not match the requirements on the USDA website for households without elderly or disabled members.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website provides income eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on its website. (Screenshot from the U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Dasia Clemente, an Ohio Department of Job and Family Services spokesperson, confirmed that for fiscal year 2022, the gross income limit for a household of three to qualify for SNAP benefits was $2,379. Beginning Oct. 1 — which marks the start of fiscal year 2023 — the gross income limit for a family of three will increase to $2,495.

That’s an increase of $116, far below what the Facebook post claimed. The increase is uniform across nearly all U.S. states.

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In most cases, a household must meet gross and net income limits to qualify for SNAP benefits, according to the USDA. Gross income refers to a household’s total income before allowable deductions, while net income refers to the remaining monthly income after allowable deductions have been made.

Clemente said that every year, the USDA increases the gross income limits for SNAP benefits, and all states must implement the change. The increase is an annual cost-of-living adjustment, according to a memo from Matt Damschroder, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Damschroder’s memo said that for the 2023 fiscal year, gross income limits to qualify for SNAP benefits in Ohio and most other states will be as follows:

• An individual: $1,473

• A group of two: $1,984

• A group of three: $2,495

• A group of four: $3,007

• A group of five: $3,518

• A group of six: $4,029

• A group of seven: $4,541

• A group of eight: $5,052

For each additional person, the gross income limit will increase by $512.

Our ruling

A Facebook post said that to qualify for Ohio SNAP benefits, "now a family of 3 can make up to $3,660 a month and it used to be $2,700, so it’s gone up almost $1,000 a month."

For fiscal year 2022, the gross income limit for a household of three to qualify for SNAP benefits in Ohio and most other states was $2,379. For fiscal year 2023, the limit will be $2,495.

That’s an increase of $116, not nearly $1,000.

We rate this claim False.

Update, Oct. 6, 2022: This fact-check has been updated to better reflect that a Facebook user shared a screenshot of a chart on Snapscreener.com and cut out necessary context from that website. The rating is unchanged.

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