snap benefits

How to Apply For a Food Card in Hamilton County, Ohio + Produce Perks

RESOURCES, Uncategorized

September is National Hunger Action Month!

In case you don’t know how to apply for Food Assistance, I wanted to explain step by step how to do it (for people living in Hamilton County, Ohio.)

How to Apply

STEP ONE: PRINT an application for Job & Family Services. I provided the downloads for you at the bottom of this post for easy access. Just download & print! You are able to print this application for free at your local library if you do not have access to a printer.

They do offer an online option, but from experience I have had the most success doing it exactly the way I am sharing – the good old-fashioned pen & paper method.

STEP TWO: Fill out application to the best of your ability.

***If you need help to fill out an application, please contact the Hamilton County Community Action Center or The Healing Center. Your local library is also able to help fill out your JFS application. All of these places provide assistance for free.***

STEP THREE: Gather all necessary documents. For *FOOD ONLY* you will need the following:

  • Identification: -State ID, -Drivers License, -Military ID, -Passport, -birth certificate, -social security card, -Visa documents for Refugees for each member of the family unit. (Provide as much as you can, Children will have less documents.)
  • Employment Verification for all members working members of the family unit: -Your last 4 paystubs OR Employment Verification Form (there is a seperate form for Self-Employment Verification), -unemployment benefits, -Veteran benefits, -Social Security Benefits, -Child Support (either what you pay OR what you receive based on your individual case),  any other consistant or large earnings you receive such as gambling. Again, provide what you can. You won’t have all of these documents.
  • Household Verification: -Deed, -Mortgage statement, -Rent receipt, -Lease agreement, -Letter from landlord, -Letter from person you are residing with, -Can also state Homelessness. -Current Energy bill, -Homeowners Insurance, -Renters Insurance, -Phone bill.
  • Resources: -Current bank statements (can prove you are in an emergency situation and bump your case to top priority), -Car title, -life insurance policy.

*** If you are also applying for childcare, you will need to provide your work or school schedule to show the amount of childcare needed. Daycare Vouchers cover the full or partial cost of daycare or after-school care, depending on your individual situation. You will need to find your own provider that accepts daycare Vouchers.***

Photo Provided by Hamilton County Job & Family Services Website

STEP FOUR: Take application and documents to your local library and fill out the Job & Family Services Fax Cover Letter (it is usually out where all of the upcoming events is, but if it is not just ask your librarian for help. The cover letter is meant to track the amount of papers you are submitting. Once the cover letter is filled out, ask your librarian to please help fax the papers to the Job & Family Services Offices. They will give you a short confirmation receipt that they were received. Hold onto this letter – documents have been known to “go missing.” This receipt will act as proof that you did in fact submit such documents at what day & time.

Next Steps

After you fax your documents, you will receive a text confirmation from JFS stating that your documents were received. It will look like this:

Shortly after you receive this text, you will receive a letter by mail stating that a telephone interview has been scheduled. It will provide a day, time, and phone number to call for your interview. It is very important that you do not miss this time!!!

Call on the day & time the letter provides and answer the questions that the social worker asks.

Important Information + Produce Perks

Expect VERY long wait times on hold, sometimes up to two hours. They can provide a translator and will ask if one is needed at the beginning of the interview. If you are using your own translator, please plan accordingly around the long wait times.

If this is your first time applying, a card will be sent to you in the mail with your benefits loaded on it. You will need to call to activate the new card and set up your PIN.

You will need to re-apply every 6 months. JFS will send you a letter in the mail letting you know that it is time along with a re-determination application.

You’ll be able to use your card at any grocery store, or any gas station that accepts SNAP. There will be a small sign or sticker on the door letting your know that SNAP is accepted.

At Findlay Market (and certain other local farmers markets), you can use your SNAP card as Produce Perks to get $1 for $1 on fresh fruits & vegetables up to $25 of free fruits & vegetables per day. For example, if you spend $15 on produce, you’ll be given an extra $15 to spend on more produce.

It is an incentive for families to use their benefits on healthy food choices.

You can also see if you qualify to sign up for their Fruit & Vegetable coupon booklet to use towards more fruits & vegetables than the alloted $25 per day, or when your food card runs out. Each booklet is worth $140, each coupon being worth $5. You would use these coupons the same way you would cash.

I truly hope this helps ♡

Applications to Download

☆🇺🇲 ENGLISH VERSION of Application 🇺🇲☆Download

☆🇺🇦 UKRAINIAN VERSION of Application 🇺🇦 ☆Download

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

A Humbling Experience

Uncategorized

Good morning world 🌎

I’m going to get really vulnerable here for a change. It’s scary & embarrassing, but it’s real life, and it’s why I made this blog in the first place.

Every once in awhile I notice the lessons that the universe gives me in order to make me a stronger person. It’s honestly really cool and eye-opening. Sometimes we all need to be broken down in some way in order to build us back up, but since beginning my spiritual journey I’ve seen time & time again that you will not be left broken if you have faith.

My husband works a full time career. I am a stay at home mom/homemaker. Our family of 7 receives snap benefits and I’m not going to lie; we rely pretty heavily on that for a big chunk of our monthly groceries. Especially since March 2020, we have been receiving a second payment (called an “emergency allotment”) which has really been extremely appreciated by our family.

It’s an impossible cycle they set in place to ensure reliance on the government. The ultimate goal is to be self-reliant and not need snap benefits, but as soon as you make enough to be comfortable for a split second, they cut you off from benefits and you’re immediately back to struggling. I’ve known people to quit their jobs just to not lose their food or medical benefits for their child.

Anyway, the day it has been scheduled (from 3/20-present) to hit our account arrives and I could not be more thrilled to place our Drive Up order at Kroger. Before I place the order, I habitually check the balance, only to see $7.74. I call to hear our next scheduled payment date: nearly a month away. I panicked.

I did some research online. I saw that only some states renewed the EA payments through the end of April, and Ohio wasn’t on the list. I panicked even more. I have 5 little mouths to feed, plus my husband & I, but their little bellies are our first priority. $7 wasn’t going to work. My first instinct was to find a food bank to stock up on as many groceries as I could to supplement that payment until at least payday, then figure out an entire new budget. I was embarrassed to share my current situation with anyone. I was scared if anyone knew I was struggling with food, I would lose my kids.

I headed to The Healing Place. It was very nice, everyone was super friendly. They offer free onsite childcare with background-checked volunteers while you are there so you can focus on the task(s) at hand, a free clothing/home needs store, a free grocery store with food items donated by local grocery stores such as Kroger & Costco, as well as free bicycles and/or bus tokens, free medical attention (well checks, addiction specialists, mental health services, eye health, etc.) by UC students, and so much more. It really is such a beautiful mission.

I came home feeling a mix of grateful, like a total failure, and very humbled. I hadn’t been in a place like that for myself in a long time. It’s a very humbling experience and definitely knocked my ass down a few notches, but my pride & snobbish attitude obviously needed to be put in check and I needed to be reminded that EVERYONE needs help sometimes. Getting help does not mean that you are a failure or a bad mom, it means you are human.

The next day I went to Kroger to buy a head of lettuce. Before going in I checked the balance, out of habit, knowing that it was still going to say $7.74. But it didn’t. The payment had been deposited a few hours earlier.

It was a miracle. I was seriously shocked. A total wave of relief washed over me. As well as a sobering realization that at any moment our food supply can be cut off- the government has us right where they want us- relient on them.

I now see the importance of having a bulk food & water supply in case of emergencies that our family can survive on, instead of just a fully stocked pantry that I’ve been focusing on in my homemaking.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please do not be ashamed to ask for help. With the intense inflation, many people are struggling more than they care to admit. You aren’t alone. There is plenty of help out there available to families (and single people as well), and that is exactly what it is intended for- to help in your time of need. You are worthy of help.

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov