Food stamps (SNAP) in
Texas.

Apply on YourTexasBenefits.com or in the Your Texas Benefits mobile app, or pick up a paper application at a local HHSC office and return it by mail, fax or in person. Applications that arrive after hours, on weekends or on holidays get the next business day as the file date.

HHSC calls you for the interview and tries at least twice. If you miss the calls, Form H1830-FA gives you a toll-free Flexible Appointment number to call during business hours. If you still do not call, HHSC mails Form H1020-MA-FA with a final date to finish the interview.

You qualify for expedited SNAP if your household has $100 or less in liquid resources and less than $150 in gross monthly income, if your resources plus income are less than your rent or mortgage and utilities, or if you are a destitute migrant or seasonal farmworker household.

Texas policy is to issue expedited benefits the same day you apply if possible, and no later than the next business day. You must prove your identity first. Most other proof can wait until after your first month of benefits.

Check your balance in the Your Texas Benefits app, on YourTexasBenefits.com, or by calling the Lone Star Card Help Desk at 800-777-7328 (7EBT). HHSC does not support other websites or apps for checking your balance, and warns they can expose you to fraud.

You can freeze or unfreeze a lost card in the app, and order a new one in the app or by phone. The replacement card is mailed within seven calendar days, and your PIN and balance move to the new card. You can also ask for a second card for someone you trust to shop for you.

Since April 1, 2026, SNAP in Texas cannot buy candy or sweetened drinks, in stores or online. Sweetened drinks are water-based drinks with 5 grams or more of added sugar or any artificial sweetener. Candy includes candy bars, gum, taffy, and candied or coated nuts, raisins and fruit.

You can still buy drinks with milk or milk substitutes, drinks with more than 50% juice, drinks with stevia or monk fruit and under 5 grams of added sugar, and medical-grade electrolyte drinks not labeled as sports drinks.

The ban comes from Senate Bill 379, passed in 2025, and a waiver USDA approved in August 2025. When you shop outside Texas, that state's rules apply instead.

The Texas Simplified Application Project (TSAP) is for households where every member is 60 or older or gets disability payments, no one has earned income, and no one gets SNAP-CAP. The application is shorter, benefits last three years instead of six months, and there is no interview at renewal.

If you already get SNAP, HHSC checks you for TSAP automatically when you renew. To apply, use YourTexasBenefits.com, a paper application from a local office, or call 2-1-1 (choose a language, then option 2) to have one mailed to you.

SNAP-CAP is a Texas demonstration project for SSI recipients 50 or older who live in Texas and do not get regular SNAP or TSAP. It pays a standard monthly amount set by the shelter costs you report, and an SSI recipient on regular SNAP can choose to switch to SNAP-CAP.

Most people 16 to 59 who can work must follow basic work rules: answer the Texas Workforce Commission about SNAP Employment and Training, take a suitable job if offered, and not quit or cut hours below 30 a week without a good reason. Caring for a child under 6 is one exemption.

Adults 18 to 64 who can work and have no one under 14 in the home can get SNAP for only three months in three years unless they work, join a work program, combine the two, or do workfare for 80 hours a month.

Pregnancy, living in a waiver area or a county without SNAP Employment and Training, and being unfit to work are among the exemptions. To get SNAP again within the three years, meet the 80-hour rule for a 30-day period.

Double Up Food Bucks matches SNAP $1 for $1 on fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets, farm stands, mobile markets and grocery stores, with more than 100 locations across Texas. For hours and locations, call the Double Up help desk at 512-730-1807.

USDA's Texas disaster page lists no Disaster SNAP in 2026. After Tropical Storm Edouard, which began September 1, 2026, USDA waived the 10-day deadline to report SNAP food lost in power outages in 16 counties, including Galveston, Jefferson and Orange.

USDA granted the same reporting waiver after storms in Bexar County in August 2026, in nine counties including Kerr and Uvalde in July 2026, and statewide after the January 2026 winter storm.

Ask for a fair hearing within 90 days of the case action date or the effective date on your Notice of Case Action. You can ask in writing, by calling 2-1-1, or at a local HHSC office. Requests after 90 days are reviewed for good cause.

Hearings are usually by conference call, and your Notice of Hearing gives the date, a toll-free number and an access code. The hearings officer decides within 60 to 90 days of your request, depending on the program.