SSI and Eligibility for Food Stamps – California

State’s food stamp cash-out policy no longer the best option for many aid recipients, By Alexandra Zavis, July 5, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Leaning on a cane, Donjean Gardner eases open her fridge and surveys the contents: half a Subway sandwich, several boxes of tangerine juice, a jar of pickles and half a jar of salsa. Her one good meal a day comes from Meals on Wheels. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in her 30s, Gardner traveled the world for 20 more years working in television production. But the disease caught up with her eventually. Now 70, she is mostly confined to the metal bed that dominates her cramped apartment in Echo Park. Her only income is $845 a month in cash assistance for impoverished elderly or disabled people, most of which is spent on rent. She thought she might qualify for food stamps. To her dismay, the answer was no. California is the only state that does not allow its 1.2 million recipients of federal Supplemental Security Income to apply for the benefit. The state decided in 1974 to increase its matching grant – known as the State Supplementary Payment – by $10 a month in place of administering food stamps for them. This additional amount has not changed in more than three decades…”