Fact check: Viral image overstates increase in Ohio SNAP income limits
The claim: Ohio raised income limits to qualify for SNAP benefits by $1,000 for some
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a federally funded program formerly known as food stamps that provides food-purchasing assistance for low-income people.
Eligibility is determined primarily by household income.
A Sept. 12 Facebook post claims the household income limit determining eligibility for the program in Ohio recently increased significantly.
"FYI: Ohio department of job and family has upped the threshold for snap (food stamp benefits) Beginning now these are the new cut offs!" reads part of the post. “Now a family of 3 can make up to 3660 a month and it used to be 2700 so it’s gone up almost 1000 a month. If you didn’t qualify before you may qualify now."
One iteration of the claim was shared more than 2,000 times in two weeks before it was deleted after the user was contacted by Paste BN. The user said she received the information in an email and initially shared a screenshot of the table hoping to make people aware of what she believed to be new limits for anyone who applied.
But the income limits listed in the post are inaccurate, according to a state official. The claimed year-to-year changes are wrong because the post compares standard limits from one year to higher limits for households with an elderly or disabled member accessing certain benefits in another year.
The original poster said she realized after the fact that she misread the email and had also inadvertently cut out context about who could qualify at the higher income limits. Paste BN reached out to the second poster for comment.
Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks
Different limits for certain households
The income limits in the viral post are wrong, according to Dasia Clemente, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Most people receiving SNAP benefits in Ohio do so under the "primary pathway" spelled out by the federal government, Clemente said. Eligibility for this group is based primarily on household income. The limits are adjusted annually to be commensurate with the cost of living, according to the Department of Agriculture.
For a one-person household, that limit went from $1,396 per month for fiscal 2022 to $1,473 for fiscal 2023, which started Oct. 1, Clemente said. For a household with seven people, that limit went from $4,347 to $4,541.
For the family of three example cited in the post, the increase was $116 ($2,379 to $2,495), not the nearly $1,000 claimed.
However, if a household has an elderly or disabled person who uses other specific social programs, the limits to qualify for SNAP may be higher, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Ben Molin, founder of snapscreener.com, which offers an unofficial SNAP eligibility calculator for all 50 states, said the table listed in the post stems from his website and shows the estimated income limits for Ohio households with the elderly or disabled pathway. He noted the table in the post shows the limits for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The Facebook post, however, presents the limits as being for all households and current.
The limits for households using that elderly or disabled pathway, like other households, increased slightly on Oct. 1.
Ohio officials did not provide numbers for the current fiscal year, but Snapscreener gives an estimate. It shows the limit for a one-person household on the limited pathway growing from $2,147 in the 2022 fiscal year to $2,266 for 2023. It also shows the limit growing from $6,687 to $6,986 for a seven-person household over the same time period.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Ohio was increasing income limits for SNAP eligibility by $1,000 for some. The comparison in the post was made by comparing two different programs. Actual increases within each program were much smaller, typically $100 to $200 depending on family size.
Our fact-check sources:
- Dasia Clemente, Sept. 20-22 Email exchange with Paste BN
- Ben Molin, Sept. 21 Phone interview with Paste BN and Sept. 27-28 email exchange with Paste BN
- Snapscreener.com, accessed Sept. 29, “Ohio SNAP Eligibility Information”
- PolitiFact, Sept. 15, “Ohio did not drastically increase income thresholds for SNAP benefit eligibility”
- U.S. Food and Nutrition Service, Aug. 9, SNAP - Fiscal Year 2023 Cost of Living Adjustments
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.