Do you think I can get food stamps / SNAP?

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I am in college right now living in an on-campus apartment. I don't have a meal plan nor can I afford one. I am buying food right now, but it's only part of my student loan refund, which is a private loan. I also have federal student loans as well. The financial environment for me has changed a bit in the last year, my family went from about $70k/year to about $15,000 this year so far, and it's already October. I live in New York (Southern Tier region/Broome County while in school, and further upstate when I'm at home.) I am interested in recieving the food stamps while I am in school, not when I'm home, though my parents can't really afford food either. They're in a different county than my college is in. I am currently under 21 and am unemployed, I have NO funds that are not directly from my student loans, my parents have given me $0 this year and can barely take care of themselves, they eat about 500 calories a day right now. I'm curious because we used to have money, and would have been ineligible then - will that affect their decision? It's hard enough getting used to this lifestyle in general - I never had to shop at thrift stores before. I feel guilty for trying to get help from the government, this is not how we used to operate, but I don't think I should be using my student loans to pay for food all the time because I'm getting further in debt and I don't even know how I'm going to pay those off. If I get a job after graduating I'll be fine, but what if I don't? I want be able to borrow just as much as the university needs, nothing else. I have forgone getting a meal plan because it's $5,000 for 7 months of food, which is more than it costs to shop at the stores.

Additional Details

LisaStrangeLove: I would rather devote more time to getting a good education (doing better in school) than to doing oddjobs just to feed myself. If I weren't in school, then I'd have a job. I think if I actually get a good job then I can pay back the government and then some. It's likely that my parents have paid more into programs such as SNAP over their years of working than we're going to use in (hopefully only) the next few months.


13th guide: I'm going to school to be a nurse, which has high demand right now. Hopefully I'm choosing the right path.

Do you think I can get food stamps / SNAP?