Can social security use my food stamps as other income other then SSI ? Because they short my checks the amount I get in food stamps. My worker told me they don’t hold it against me, yes they obviously do. I am paying for my food stamps dollar for dollar every month. If that’s the case then they should deduct the amount people get in food stamps from the amount of money welfare gives needy families.

HI. First off, I need to explain that my expertise is actually limited to Social Security benefits, not the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. I have a better than average understanding of the SSI program, but I'm not an expert by any means.

What I can tell you is that the SSI rules are complicated at best. The value of food stamps is not counted directly as income for SSI program purposes, but they can still affect SSI benefits indirectly depending on the person's living arrangement. I don't know enough about your circumstances to know if your SSI payments are being calculated correctly, so I would suggest that you call Social Security and ask to speak with an SSI technical expert so that they can review your records and explain what's happening in your case.

Best, Jerry