Gross Income Requirement

• To qualify for the Food Supplement program, a household must earn 130 percent of the federally defined poverty level or less. As of Oct. 1, 2010, a family of four must have a gross income of less than $2,389 each month, or $28,672 annually. A single-member household must have gross income less than $1,174 each month to qualify for the program. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services adjusts the federal poverty level each year on Oct. 1 in accordance with changes in inflation and the cost of living.
  
  

Net Income and Assets

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that states screen applicants for food assistance programs using a net income test that measures a household's earning power and a resource test that measures savings. Delaware doesn't impose those requirements like other states. All children under the age of 22 in the household must apply for benefits under their parent or guardian's household, and are used to figure the size of the household as well as benefit amounts for it.
  
  

Automatic Qualification

• Some Delaware residents may qualify for food stamps without the need to clear a financial eligibility test. Applicants who receive Supplemental Security Income from the Social Security Administration, benefits from Delaware's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program or the state's General Assistance program automatically qualify to receive benefits from the state's food stamp program. Most recipients of these benefits earn income below levels necessary to qualify for food stamps or have already demonstrated exceptional need.
  
  

Benefit Amounts

• Just as the economic eligibility requirements are more streamlined than that of many other states' food assistance programs, Delaware provides a straightforward benefit amount based solely on the size of the recipient's household. A single-member household receives $200 monthly as of Oct. 1, 2010, while a four-member family receives $668 each month. An eight-member family receives $1,202 in assistance, with $150 granted for each additional family member beyond the eighth. Funds are applied directly to recipients' Delaware Food First card electronically each month.