Overview
Get money to buy food
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) gives people in Connecticut help to buy food. It used to be called “food stamps.” SNAP benefits include:
- Monthly money on a debit-like EBT card to buy food
- Free education and job training through SNAP
- Get $2 for every $1 when you spend your SNAP money at certain Farmer’s Markets and Farm Stands
- Free budget-friendly and healthy recipes and nutrition tips
- Free admission to the Mystic Aquarium for you and three guests
How SNAP works
- Apply
Fill out the application form online, by mail, or in-person
- Wait to be asked for more documents or called for an interview
We will see if we need more information to know if you are eligible for SNAP - Get an answer in 30 days or less
We will mail you a letter with the result - Start buying food
If you’re approved, you will get an EBT card in the mail that gets money added each month - Make sure to renew
Most people need to submit forms every 6 months to keep getting SNAP
If you have little or no money right now
We will process your application as an emergency and respond within 7 days. We will give you SNAP benefits for 1-2 months as soon as we can.
We still need the rest of your documents and may interview you, so that you can keep getting SNAP benefits.
You will get emergency processing if your household:
- Makes less than $150 a month and has less than $100 in the bank, or
- Has combined rent/mortgage and utility bills that are more than your total income and assets before taxes, or
- Are migrant or seasonal farmworkers living in Connecticut.
If you need more food help
You can call 211 or visit 211.org
What you can buy with your EBT card
- You can buy groceries, such as:
○Fruits and vegetables;
○Meat, poultry, fish;
○Dairy products;
○Breads and cereals;
○Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages;
○Seeds and plants, to grow food to eat.
- You can’t buy:
○Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, or tobacco
○Vitamins, medicines, and supplements. If an item has a Supplement Facts label, it is considered a supplement and is not eligible for SNAP purchase.
○Live animals (except shellfish, fish removed from water, and animals slaughtered prior to pick-up from the store).
○Foods that are hot when sold
○Any nonfood items such as:
■Pet foods
■Cleaning supplies, paper products, and other household supplies.
■Hygiene items, cosmetics
Note: bottle deposits can be paid with SNAP if the bottle deposit fees are required by State law. Deposit fees of more than the amount required by state law cannot be paid for with SNAP. This includes fees added in the total price of the product.