States Rethink Asset Tests for People on Food Stamps

At the same time, national groups such as the CFED and the New America Foundation started arguing against asset tests, saying they encourage SNAP households to spend down their resources in order to qualify for the benefit. That message, according to these groups, flies in the face of municipal initiatives like financial empowerment centers and Bank On programs that try to get low-income families to save for future expenses that could be critical in exiting poverty. "You want families to be saving and then they hit this limit and they can't get food stamps anymore," said Kathy Fisher, policy manager for the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. "It can be a real impediment to that family achieving sustainability down the road."