Government grants can help you pay for housing costs, living expenses, education, small business opportunities, and more. If you are experiencing an economic disadvantage or crisis, there may be a grant that can help you.
But before you can receive aid, you’ll need to qualify for the government grants you’re applying for. Read on to discover the government grants and programs you may qualify for to help you reduce your expenses.
If you have a limited income, you already know how difficult it can be to make ends meet and afford to pay all of your bills on time. Fortunately, there are several government grants and programs in place that may be able to assist low-income families and households with their cost of living.
The following government programs might be able to help you lower your cost of living:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): More commonly known as food stamps, SNAP benefits provide food assistance distributed on an EBT card. These benefits can be used to purchase qualifying foods for you and your family. Depending on where you live, you may be able to apply for food stamps online, by mail, or in person at your local office.
- Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Like SNAP, WIC helps cover the cost of food for qualifying participants. However, eligibility for the program is more specific, as benefits are only available to pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women and young children who meet additional requirements. Generally, you need to visit your WIC office to apply for benefits.
- School Meals: Free school lunches and breakfasts are available to school-age, low-income children. Children are automatically deemed eligible if a family receives other qualifying assistance programs, such as SNAP, WIC, or TANF.
- Meals on Wheels: Meals on Wheels is a food assistant program that delivers nutritious meals to seniors and disabled persons. This program generally operates on a donation-basis.
- Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP): CSFP is a government program that helps provide nutritious meals to low-income senior citizens who are older than 60 years of age.
- Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF): If you need help with childcare costs, you could qualify for assistance through CCDF. This program provides government grants based on income and other requirements. To qualify, you must be enrolled in an educational program or be employed, have a child that is younger than 13 (or younger than 19 and unable to care for themselves), and be the child’s primary caretaker or parent.
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): TANF provides very low-income families with monetary benefits for a limited period. These benefits can be spent on a variety of expenses, including food, housing, utilities, and childcare. Additionally, some state programs offer child care or job training benefits.
