New Pre-Screening Protocol! Click here now to download.

Please Note: All pre-screening tools are updated every October with new income guidelines and are frequently updated as a result of changes in policy. Therefore, if using a screening tool, you should frequently update your tool by returning to this website and remind people that they should consider applying even if upon prescreening it looks like they may not be eligible. Only your local food stamp office can determine if you are eligible for food stamps.

There are many screening tools available to help determine if someone is potentially eligible for food stamps. Below is an inventory of these tools and how they should and should not be used:

USDA Online Pre-screening Tool: Unfortunately, this online tool is not a good place for Californian's to determine potential eligibility due to special laws in California that prevent people on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and the suplement provided by California State Supplemental Portion (SSP) from receiving food stamps and due to a California program offering food stamps to certain immigrants not eligible under federal law. No similar online screening tool exists in California at this point.

Manual Pre-screening Tool for California: The California Association of Food Bank has developed this simple manual tool that requires no technology. This tool is especially helpful to determine potential eligibility for mixed status households, where some members have legal-permanent or citizenship status and others do not. In these cases, the standard income guidelines may not apply as the income of certain household members may need to be pro-rated. You may also get a copy of the Benchmark Institute prescreen tool. This tool is in Excel format with built-in equations. To get a copy, contact us today. Please Note: This tool and all screening tools are updated every October, with new income guidelines.

The Food Stamp Application and Screening Tool (FAST): FAST offers community based organizations a way to screen for potential food stamp eligibility and assist in application and follow-up applicants. In approximately seven minutes, a client is screened and a printable California Form DFA-1 Food Stamp application pre-filled with the client’s information is generated.  The current tool also prints a Confidentiality Waiver and a Next Steps flyer based on information provided by the county, directing the client to the closest Food Stamp office based on the client’s ZIP code or offers instructions on applying over the phone. You may click here to register as a FAST user, download training materials and user guide and to download a copy of the FAST database.