The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is intended to help low-income and needy individuals and families with fresh food and groceries. Qualifying participants can receive food assistance through either regular SNAP or the Louisiana Combined Application Project (LaCAP).

                By                    Georgina Tzanetos                

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In Louisiana, SNAP recipient households must meet income tests. In most cases, a household must meet both the gross and net income tests, but the state says a household with a person who is 60 years of age or older who is receiving certain types of disability payments only needs to meet the net income test.

LaCAP assistance is only available for Louisiana residents who are at least 60 years of age and receive Supplemental Security Income from the SSA. It is considered a simplified version of SNAP. If you are eligible, you will receive a Louisiana Purchase Card, upon which SNAP benefits will be automatically deposited each month.

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SNAP benefits in Louisiana are loaded onto what is called the Louisiana Purchase Card. This card operates like a regular EBT card, or electronic benefits transfer card. It is swiped at participating vendors just like any other debit or credit card, but SNAP benefits are preloaded once a month onto the Purchase card depending on household size and what amount of benefit you were approved for.

Louisiana recently changed its EBT deposit schedule. The day of payments corresponds with the last number of your Social Security number. If you are elderly or disabled, you will receive benefits from the 1st-4th of the month. The rest of the schedule is as follows: