Food Stamps Schedule: Massachusetts SNAP Payments for October 2022
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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Like most states, Massachusetts keeps a set monthly schedule for when Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients get their benefits. SNAP benefits in the Bay State are deposited into your account over the first 14 days of each month based on the last digit of your Social Security number.
The program is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). The state offers a wide range of benefits and services to SNAP customers, including the following:
- Monthly funds on an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card to buy food
- Either $40, $60 or $80 a month put back on your EBT card when you use SNAP to buy local produce via the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP)
- SNAP Path to Work free education and training opportunities
- Free nutrition education classes and resources
- Connections to other kinds of help, such as utility discounts, free school meals and discounted admissions to many Commonwealth museums and cultural institutions via the EBT “Card to Culture” program
SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance to low-income households. Although it is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program is administered at the state level. If you are eligible for SNAP benefits, they’ll be deposited monthly into your SNAP account. You now use EBT cards to pay for food instead of food stamps.
Massachusetts EBT cards can be swiped at card reader terminals at authorized locations with the Quest logo, which can be found on the door or window of the store. If a store with the Quest logo doesn’t have a working EBT machine, the store clerk can write a voucher for SNAP purchases and then call the agency to see if you have enough benefits to buy the food. After that, you must sign and keep the voucher to subtract the amount from your balance. Keep in mind that it might take a few days for any changes to appear on your SNAP account.
You can use the EBT card to purchase the following food items:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Meat, poultry and fish
- Dairy products
- Breads and cereals
- Snack foods and non-alcoholic beverages
- Seeds and plants, which produce food for the household to eat.
Among the items you can’t buy with SNAP benefits are alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, vitamins, medicines, supplements, live animals, pet foods, cleaning supplies, paper products and cosmetics. In Massachusetts, you also can’t use SNAP to purchase food that is served hot at the point of sale because it is not among the states that operate a Restaurant Meals Program through SNAP.
You can instantly check your eligibility for SNAP benefits in Massachusetts by filling out the online screener. After that, you can apply in numerous ways, including filling out the online application through DTA Connect, applying over the phone at 877- 382-2363, or sending your application to your local DTA office by fax, mail or in person.
Here is the Massachusetts SNAP deposit schedule for October 2022:
| SSN ends in: | Benefits available: |
| 0 | Oct. 1 |
| 1 | Oct. 2 |
| 2 | Oct. 4 |
| 3 | Oct. 5 |
| 4 | Oct. 7 |
| 5 | Oct. 8 |
| 6 | Oct. 10 |
| 7 | Oct. 11 |
| 8 | Oct. 13 |
| 9 | Oct. 14 |
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