Washington Peeps: Basic Food Program

I had never heard of this program before, so I wanted to pass it along to some of my local readers.

Washington has a food assistance program called Basic Food. It gives you an allowance each month, meant to supplement your grocery budget. For most, it will help out with the higher costs of fresh fruits and vegetables. You can even save the amount over several months and do one big shopping trip.

For a family of 3, if your monthly household income is under $2934, you qualify. A single person making $1734 or less would qualify. Unlike other government programs, you can hold a job, they don't count the value of your home or cars, and you can be a legal immigrant and still qualify for the program.

There is no set limit on the amount of people who qualify for these funds, so as long as you make within their guidelines, you should apply. It sounds like they have a very quick turn around on your application as well, and the money is pro-rated back to the date you submitted your application. Maybe you could use the money to buy organic produce instead?

And you can even fill out the application online, and do the interview over the phone!

If someone takes advantage of this, I'd love to know if it's as easy as they make it sound!