South Carolina residents who qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will receive their payments on the normal monthly schedule in December. As usual, payments will be distributed in two separate batches, depending on when you first started receiving benefits.

                By                    Vance Cariaga

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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. In South Carolina, it is run by the Department of Social Services (DSS), which deposits monthly benefits onto South Carolina Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards.

To apply for SNAP online in the Palmetto State, visit the DSS Benefits Portal. To apply in person, by mail or fax, contact any DSS county office. To check whether you are potentially eligible for SNAP benefits, select “Am I Eligible” on the DSS Benefits Portal.

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EBT cards can be used at most grocery stores and certain other retail locations. You can use SNAP benefits to purchase the following food items:

  • Fruits and vegetablesMeat, poultry and fishDairy productsBreads and cerealsSnack foods and non-alcoholic beveragesSeeds 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 South Carolina, you also can’t use your EBT card to buy hot meals prepared at the point of sale because it is not among the states that participate in SNAP’s Restaurant Meals Program.

How To Score EBT Discounts

SNAP benefits in South Carolina and elsewhere also come with perks that go beyond purchasing food — including discounts on certain products and services. Here’s a quick look at money-saving opportunities your EBT card provides:

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If you filed a new SNAP application, benefits are available the day following your case approval. For an ongoing SNAP case, benefits are sent out on the same day every month — between the 1st and the 19th. The day you receive your SNAP benefits depends on the last digit of your case number.

Accordingly, South Carolina has two different SNAP schedules. If you started receiving benefits after Sept. 1, 2012, this is when to expect your December 2022 deposit:

If you started receiving SNAP benefits continuously before Sept. 1, 2012, here is the schedule for December 2022:

All SNAP recipients, including those signed up for benefits in North Carolina, have received a financial boost thanks to a major cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for fiscal year 2023. The new COLA kicked off on Oct. 1, 2022, and upping the maximum monthly benefit by 12.5%.