What it is
The Food Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) helps people buy food for their family. Benefits arrive monthly on an Ohio Direction Card, accepted at over 900 stores in Cuyahoga County — including kosher grocers.
The amount you receive depends on your assistance group — the people who live together and prepare and eat their meals together — and on income after allowable deductions for things like rent and utilities.
The process (and its pitfalls)
After applying, the county schedules a phone interview. This is where most applications go wrong:
- If you miss your phone interview, tell us right away — the county does not automatically schedule a second one.
- Two missed phone interviews and the case is closed, and you start over.
- The county has 30 days to respond to an application and 10 days to respond to submitted documentation.
How Gesher helps
We submit your application with complete documentation the first time, get receipts proving submission, and advocate through our county contacts if anything stalls. Renewals and interim reports are tracked so your benefits don’t lapse.