Black Health
SNAP · Texas

Texas SNAP (Lone Star Card)

Run by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

The number

Texas SNAP (Lone Star Card): Maximum monthly SNAP for a household of 3, FY 2025 is $766.

Primary source: https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/food/snap-food-benefits
Apply for Texas SNAP (Lone Star Card) 1-877-541-7905 Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Quick facts

Application channel
Online
Average processing time
30 days
Maximum monthly SNAP for a household of 3, FY 2025
$766

Texas SNAP (Lone Star Card) in Texas

Texas SNAP (Lone Star Card) is run by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. SNAP — what most Texas residents still call food stamps — helps low-income households buy groceries at most supermarkets, corner stores, and an increasing number of farmers' markets. Federal income tests for FY 2025 (October 2024 through September 2025): gross monthly income at or below 130% of the federal poverty line ($2,798 for a household of three), and net income at or below 100% of poverty after standard deductions. The federal asset limit is $3,000 ($4,500 for elderly or disabled households), though many states have used the Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility option to remove or raise the asset test above the federal floor.

The maximum monthly SNAP allotment for a household of three in Texas is $766 in FY 2025. SNAP benefits load monthly to an Electronic Benefit Transfer card and can buy any food product for human consumption: meats, produce, dairy, breads, cereals, snacks, and seeds or plants that produce food for the household. SNAP cannot be used for alcohol, tobacco, hot prepared foods (with limited Restaurant Meals Program exceptions), vitamins, pet food, or non-food items.

Apply online at https://yourtexasbenefits.com/ or by calling 1-877-541-7905. Federal processing time is 30 days for a regular application; 7-day expedited service is required for households with under $150 in monthly income and $100 in liquid assets, or migrant + seasonal workers (7 CFR 273.2(i)). Bring photo ID, Social Security numbers for everyone applying, proof of income for the last 30 days, proof of housing costs, and any child-support orders. Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) ages 18-54 face a 3-month time limit unless they meet a 20-hour-a-week work requirement — veterans, homeless adults, and youth aging out of foster care are exempt under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

Texas SNAP runs on the Lone Star EBT card and enrolls about 3.6 million participants — the largest state SNAP caseload in the country. Texas does not use BBCE; the state applies the federal asset test ($3,000 / $4,500) and has the country's most restrictive vehicle-asset test among non-BBCE states. Texans Care for Children and Feeding Texas have lobbied for BBCE adoption since 2009.

For Black families in Texas

About 78% of SNAP-eligible Black households in Texas are enrolled, per USDA's Reaching Those in Need state-level participation series. Nationally, Black households participate at roughly three times the rate of white households — reflecting both higher poverty rates from historical wage and wealth gaps and SNAP doing what it is designed to do.

The 2023 federal expansion of the Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents time limit to age 54 hit Black SNAP recipients hardest — an Urban Institute analysis found Black adults made up about 31% of those subject to the new ABAWD rule. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities maintains a state-by-state ABAWD-waiver tracker at cbpp.org/research/food-assistance; check whether Texas has a current waiver in your county before counting on the time limit applying.

Texas SNAP runs on the Lone Star EBT card and enrolls about 3.6 million participants — the largest state SNAP caseload in the country. Texas does not use BBCE; the state applies the federal asset test ($3,000 / $4,500) and has the country's most restrictive vehicle-asset test among non-BBCE states. Texans Care for Children and Feeding Texas have lobbied for BBCE adoption since 2009.

Where to get help

If you want help with the application or want to walk in and have someone sit with you through the forms, three places in Texas can do that for free:

  • Federally Qualified Health Centers in Texas — every FQHC has certified application counselors on staff and cannot turn you away for inability to pay. They cross-enroll Medicaid + WIC + SNAP at the same visit.
  • Texas Medicaid — if you qualify for Medicaid you are automatically income-eligible for WIC under federal adjunctive eligibility rules (7 CFR 246.7).
  • Texas uninsured rate by race — SNAP enrollment is one of the strongest predictors of also qualifying for Medicaid, particularly in expansion states. Verify your Medicaid status in the same visit.

Other safety-net programs in Texas

WIC in Texas TANF in Texas

References & primary sources

Data refreshed: