Food stamps (SNAP) in
Kansas.

Most states let SNAP households skip the asset test and pass a higher gross line through broad-based categorical eligibility. K.S.A. 39-709 tells the DCF secretary not to adopt that option, and says categorical eligibility cannot flow from non-cash or in-kind benefits unless federal law requires it.

The result is a tighter screen: income must clear 130% of poverty and the net line, and savings count. Households where every member gets TANF or SSI can still be categorically eligible, and DCF asks those households to contact their local service center about it.

Households with a member 60 or older or disabled can deduct medical costs above $35 a month. USDA approved Kansas to give a standard deduction of $140 ($175 minus $35) when the household's ongoing medical bills total more than $35 but no more than $175.

Since a December 2025 policy memo, DCF adds up costs for the whole household, not person by person. A couple with $50 and $75 in monthly bills qualifies for the flat amount; once the total passes $175, DCF uses actual expenses instead.

USDA's March 4, 2026 letter approved a two-year Kansas demonstration that removes candy and soft drinks from what SNAP can buy, starting February 15, 2027. SUN Bucks follow the same rule, retailers must comply, and no household can opt out. Kansas may ask to extend it.

Kansas law sets the definitions. Candy is sweetened bars, drops or pieces, but anything made with flour that needs no refrigeration is not candy. Soft drinks are sweetened nonalcoholic drinks, except those with milk or a milk substitute or more than 50% juice.

The block runs at the register and online at Kansas retailers, and it covers visitors whose cards come from other states. Registers will ask for another form of payment for a restricted item.

Work registrants must accept a suitable job and cannot quit or drop below 30 hours without good reason. Skipping mandatory E&T without good cause costs 3 months of benefits the first time, 6 months the second, and a year for any later failure.

The time limit is 80 hours a month of work, an approved job program or volunteering. You are exempt if you are under 18 or 65 or older, someone in the home is under 14, you are pregnant, or a health condition keeps you from working. State law forbids DCF from even requesting an ABAWD waiver.

A person who will not cooperate with child support services, without good cause, loses Food Assistance until DCF finds they are cooperating. Someone penalized for not cooperating with TANF work programs faces a matching Food Assistance penalty.

A drug felony committed on or after July 1, 2015 bars Food Assistance, but a first offender becomes eligible again by joining an approved treatment program and passing drug tests. That route is not open after a second drug felony.

Between reviews, report only three things, by the 10th of the month after they happen: gross income rising past 130% of poverty for your size, a lottery or gambling win of $4,750 or more before taxes, and an ABAWD's hours falling under 20 a week. Side gig income counts too.

Most cases run 12 months with an Interim Report midway; households with only older or disabled adults and no earnings can get 24. Return the report within 10 days of the notice. DCF sends one reminder, and if that is ignored too, the case closes.

Review interviews are by phone unless you ask to meet in person, and should happen by the 15th of the last month. Older or disabled households with no earnings and no reported changes may skip the interview.

The federal law that replaced SNAP stolen through skimming or card cloning expired on December 20, 2024, and Kansas has no state money to fill the gap. DCF says plainly that stolen EBT benefits cannot be replaced right now.

The ebtEDGE app and ebtEDGE.com let you freeze the card between trips and block online and out-of-state use. A replacement card takes 5 to 7 business days, with no access to benefits while you wait. DCF and FIS never call or text asking for your PIN.

You may contest any DCF action or loss of benefits from the prior 90 days. A Food Assistance request can be spoken, in person or by phone, or written, and for a spoken request the day you ask counts as the request date.

If DCF receives the request within 10 days of mailing the adverse notice and your review period is still open, benefits keep coming at the old level until the hearing decision, unless the only question is a change in law.