JustHarvest

UPDATE: Although the asset limits have been raised, it does not change the immediate and negative impact that this policy's implementation will have upon needy Pennsylvanians and taxpayers in a cash-strapped state!  Please read on for updated info, and sign the petition to stop the asset test at Change.org!

 Just Harvest and anti-hunger advocates across the state need your help at this critical time, as food stamp recipients in Pennsylvania have again come under attack by Governor Tom Corbett’s administration.

The Department of Public Welfare has submitted a letter of intent to the federal government to bring back what’s called an “asset test.”  An asset test requires families to have less than $5,500 in assets ($9,000 for households with seniors or people with disabilities) to qualify for food stamps, which is now called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). 

Recognizing the devastating effects of an asset test, 38 states do not impose an asset test for SNAP. In fact, Pennsylvania eliminated its own asset test in 2008, as the recession took hold and a growing number of families found themselves seeking food assistance for the first time in their lives.

And, current recipients will face the asset test based on their next scheduled income reporting.

The asset test - bad for needy people and bad for a cash-strapped commonwealth

The DPW claimed previously that the asset test would result in “2 percent” of food stamp recipients losing their benefits.  But its implementation will impact 100 percent of new and renewing applicants.  Checking bank statements and car values for over 850,000 families on food stamps will add to the workload of already massively overburdened DPW workers.  Just Harvest hears the stories from discouraged food stamp applicants week in and week out.  DPW’s phones are always busy. Telephone calls for mandatory interviews never come.  Applications are denied because paperwork that the client submitted was lost by the DPW office.

Moreover, there has been no cost statement on the implementation of the test, nor has this process been undertaken with sufficient transparency.

Does it make sense to spend dollars to save dimes, while creating more delays, red tape and greater hardship for needy people?

We don't think so!

What you can do:

• Call Gov. Corbett at (412) 565-5700.  Tell him: "Raising the asset limits of the food stamp asset test doesn’t make it a sound policy!  It will overburden DPW caseworkers with more paperwork, and those delays and potential errors will hurt needy people who need help now.  As a taxpayer, I demand that you halt this expensive and wasteful asset test.”
• Call your state representatives and senators.  Tell them that the asset test is harmful to poor people and wasteful of tax dollars, and ask them to publicly oppose its re-implementation.  Although this is an administrative decision, if Governor Corbett hears from enough legislators who have in turn heard from enough constituents, we can get him to reverse course!  To find out who your legislator is, go to this location
• Are you a food stamp recipient with savings that you think would jeopardize your benefits?  Get in touch with Just Harvest’s James Tedrow at 412-431-8960 to share your concerns and your story with us.  With your cooperation, we can help you tell your story to legislators, advocates and media.
• Submit a letter to the editor about the asset test to our local newspapers.  Share your story if you have one and call us at 412-431-8960 to let us know you’ve written.