Common Pitfalls

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps millions of people in the United States. If you apply for SNAP and are approved, you get benefits to pay for groceries and other healthy food. If you apply and are denied, nothing will change in your life. So there’s no harm in applying and a lot of potential benefits if you are approved.

Tip: If your application is denied, you can appeal the decision with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

After you apply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), SNAP notifies you that you have to schedule an interview. This is to make sure they understand your needs. The interview may be done by phone or in person.

Be sure to attend your interview or to contact your local Health and Human Services (HHS) office to reschedule it if you miss it. SNAP may deny your application if you don’t complete a required interview.

When you start getting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, you get instructions on how to report changes in your household and what to report, including on how to report changes. To avoid problems with your SNAP benefits, report these changes by the tenth day of the month after the change happens, so that you don’t run into problems with your SNAP benefits.

You can report changes by calling 1-877-347-5678 or email IMCSC@dhs.state.ia.us.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are used to buy food for the household to eat and should be used at stores with the “QUEST” logo, or at participating farmers markets and farm stands. You are not allowed to use SNAP at restaurants, places that sell medical or retail marijuana or marijuana products, adult entertainment venues, and places whose primary business is the sale of firearms. SNAP cannot be used to purchase hot prepared foods in grocery stores either.

Learn more about using the Iowa EBT Card.