South Carolina Issuing March SNAP Benefits Early

South Carolina Issuing March SNAP Benefits Early

March payments will be made March 5

Feb. 19, 2019

COLUMBIA, SC – The South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) will be issuing March Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits early in order to reduce the time between payments for recipients who received their February benefits early because of the federal government shutdown. Only those SNAP recipients who received their February benefits in January will receive benefits on March 5, 2019. This will affect an estimated 231,000 households.

Eligible SNAP recipients who received their February benefits on their monthly issuance date will receive March benefits on their normal schedule. DSS typically staggers the date SNAP benefits are issued between the first and 19th day of each month. South Carolina issued February benefits January 17 because of the federal government shutdown. Issuing March benefits on the normal schedule would have left some South Carolinians with up to 59 days between monthly SNAP payments. The release on March 5 will reduce the length of time between SNAP payments to no more than 45 days.

DSS has been instructed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue to accept and process new applications and recertifications as normal. All program rules, including verification of income, are not waived because of this early issuance process. South Carolina will return to its normal issuance schedule in April. If SNAP participants have questions they can contact their local office or call DSS Connect at 1-800-616-1309.