Nutrition Assistance is for people who can’t afford to pay for all of their food. When you apply for Nutrition Assistance, you will need to give details about how much money everyone in your household (also called budgetary unit) has. If you have more money than the program allows, you won't qualify for Nutrition Assistance. The rules may be different depending on your circumstances, including whether you (or someone in your household) has a disability or is elderly (60 or older). This article will focus on the program rules for people with disabilities.

Income

If you have a disability or are elderly, the state will look at your income, resources and household composition to figure out if you are eligible for Nutrition Assistance. After deductions for income tax, shelter and medical expenses, your income must be less than the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) for your household size, which means $1,255 per month for an individual, $1,704 per month for a couple, and an additional $448 for each additional household member.

The Arizona Self-Help website provides an online tool to let you estimate whether you might be eligible for Nutrition Assistance, and what your benefits might be.

Exceptions

Some households don’t have to worry about Nutrition Assistance’s income limits. For example, if everyone in your household is on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you qualify for Nutrition Assistance.

Resources are things you own, like a car, home, or money in the bank. In general, the resource limit for persons with disabilities is $4,500, although some people with disabilities have categorical eligibility for Nutrition Assistance and then their resources are not counted. If you have questions about this, you can use Arizona Self-Help's online screening tool to estimate your eligibility and benefits, or you can call the Family Assistance Administration (FAA) at 1-855-777-8590.

Note: If your disability began before you turned 26, you can open an ABLE account where you can save up to $19,000 each year and not have it counted by Nutrition Assistance. Learn more about ABLE accounts.

The Benefit Amount

Nutrition Assistance has a list of how much money they think households need to spend on food each month. This amount depends on how many people are in your household:

If you have no monthly net income (gross income minus certain deductions), the amounts shown in the table above are what you’ll get each month from Nutrition Assistance.

If you do have net income, Nutrition Assistance expects you to spend 30% of your net income on food. Nutrition Assistance will give you the amount listed in the table above, minus the 30% they expect you to spend.

Formula for Monthly Benefit Amount:

Maximum amount from the table

Minus your net income x 0.3

= Your Nutrition Assistance benefit amount

Example

Tim lives alone and gets income from Social Security benefits and work. His net income is $500. After he deducts his medical expenses and shelter allowance, the calculation would look like this:

Tim's Nutrition Assistance benefit calculation:

Maximum benefit amount from the table	$292
Earned income	500.00
Minus (0.3 x $500)	-
Tim's Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) food benefit

The minimum Nutrition Assistance benefit for households of 1 or 2 people is $23 per month. The exception to the general rule is the initial or application month. When the benefit is less than $23, it must be paid when the amount is $10-$23. When the benefit is less than $10, it will not be paid.

If you have any questions, visit the Arizona Self Help website or the Arizona Nutrition Assistance page. You can also call the Family Assistance Administration at 1-855-777-8590.

The easiest way to apply for Nutrition Assistance is online using Health-e-Arizona Plus.

Or, you can download the application for benefits, print it, fill it out, and then either mail or fax it to your local Family Assistance Administration (FAA) office.

You can also request a paper application from your local FAA office. If you need help locating your local FAA office, use the online tool to search by city or zip code.

Next, you will have an eligibility, or fact-finding, interview. The interview will be at your local FAA office. If you can’t go to the office, you can ask for an interview over the phone.

You will need to show documentation about your situation, including your citizenship status, your household composition, your disability, income, resources, medical expenses, and shelter costs. The Arizona Department of Economic Security has a list of the documents you may need to submit (or bring with you to the interview).

FAA will make a decision within seven days if you qualify for expedited benefits or within 30 days for regular Nutrition Assistance. They will mail their decision to you. You can also check the status of your application online at My Family Benefits.

If you need help filling out the application form or have questions about the proofs FAA needs for your application, be sure to ask. They want to help you get benefits if you are eligible. You can call FAA at 1-855-777-8590.

Reporting

In order to avoid problems with your benefits, it’s important to tell Nutrition Assistance when your income, resources, or living situation changes. You will get instructions from Nutrition Assistance on how to report changes. Alternatively, you can report changes online at Health-e-Arizona Plus or at My Family Benefits.

Appeals

If your application is denied, and you don’t agree with a decision that was made, the first step is to contact your FAA office and see if things can be resolved with them. A lot of times, the denial may be because FAA needs more information from you. If you’re not able to resolve it with the FAA office, you can file an appeal. You can find information on appeals on the website of Arizona's Department of Economic Security (DES). If you need to file an appeal, you must do so within 90 days of the decision notice.

There are a number of factors related to applying for or using Nutrition Assistance benefits.

Personal Care Attendant

Some people with disabilities have someone who helps them with buying and preparing food. This person is called a Personal Care Attendant (PCA). You do not have to include them in your household when you apply for Nutrition Assistance.

Restaurant Meals

People with disabilities may use their Nutrition Assistance benefits to buy food at restaurants. The Arizona Department of Economic Security provides a list of restaurants that will accept your Nutrition Assistance benefits.

Farmers Markets

Many farmers markets will accept your Nutrition Assistance benefits, so you can buy fresh, local produce. Find a nearby market on the online list of Arizona Community Farmers Markets, all of which accept Nutrition Assistance benefits.

Nutrition Assistance and Work

Nutrition Assistance uses your net income in figuring out your benefits amount. Your net income is your gross income (earned income and unearned income) minus allowable expenses and deductions for shelter, medical expenses, and other expenses.

To be eligible for Nutrition Assistance, your household must

• Have a gross income of no more than 130% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG); for 2025 that would be $20,345 for an individual
• Have a net income of no more than 100% of the FPG; in 2025 that would be $15,650 for an individual
• Have resources less than $4,500 for the elderly/disabled, or $3,000 for all others.

However, if you get TANF Cash Assistance or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, you automatically qualify to get Nutrition Assistance. Or, if you receive non-cash services or benefits funded by TANF Cash Assistance or other low-income programs, you may automatically qualify for Nutrition Assistance. This is called categorical eligibility.

Even if your household income is over the regular income limits and your family doesn't get SSI or TANF Cash Assistance benefits, you may still qualify for Nutrition Assistance if your household income is below 185% of FPG.

If you have questions, contact your local Family Assistance Administration (FAA) office.

Emergency Food Assistance

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) gives food to people with low-income at no cost, through soup kitchens or food banks. There is no formal application for this program; when you visit a TEFAP location, you will be asked to show identification (anything with your name and address on it) and to sign in. You will have to self-declare that your household income is less than 185% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG), which in 2025 would be $28,953 for an individual, plus another $10,175 for each additional family member.

The Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) offers an overview of TEFAP and a list of TEFAP locations. DES also provides a list of other programs that may help you find more food.

Marcela's Story

Marcela lives with her husband, brother, and two children. She works part-time for a local community center. Her brother was in a car accident a number of years back and has only been able to work off and on because of his disability.

They never had trouble making ends meet until Marcela’s husband was laid off. They were still able to pay for rent, but after that, money was tight. Marcela decided that they needed help paying for food.

Her first step was to contact the Family Assistance Administration (FAA) at 1-855-777-8590 to get more info about Nutrition Assistance. She was happy to find out that if there was an emergency, she could get Nutrition Assistance within seven days. Luckily, things weren’t that bad.

Applying for Nutrition Assistance

Marcela applied online and had to state her family’s income, resources, and living situation. She also found the list of required documentation online. So when she went in for her interview at her local DES/Family Assistance Administration office, Marcela brought along pay stubs, bank records, and other needed proofs of her family’s income and situation. During the interview, she learned that Nutrition Assistance has rules to help households that include people with disabilities. To figure out how much income her family had, Nutrition Assistance subtracted the money Marcela’s family spent on getting someone to come in to help her brother. Nutrition Assistance also subtracted most of the money that the family spent on his medical expenses.

Using Nutrition Assistance

About three weeks after turning in the application, Marcela got a letter saying that her family had been approved for Nutrition Assistance at $700 a month. This was the maximum benefit amount for households of five, minus the net income that Marcela had from her job. She also got her Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card and instructions on how to use it.

The first time she went to the store, Marcela was worried that people would know that she was on Nutrition Assistance. She had heard stories from her clients about the dirty looks people gave them when they handed over Food Stamps. But the EBT card looked just like any other debit card. The other people in line had no idea that she was on Nutrition Assistance.