But we have a lot of work to do to be able to take care of these children.” Hope and criticism And I think every win is a win, whether it’s small or big. Sometimes without even clothes.”īut she still sees victory in the bill’s passage. “A lot of times when grandparents have retired or they’re working toward their retirement, we already have our cars, pensions, we have our things and then we get our grandchildren,” Bristol said. “I think that’s why the vast majority of states have said, ‘This isn’t something we’re going to factor in.’”īristol said she was joined by 86 grandparents from around the state who went to Austin to testify in support of HB 1287 on April 4, exactly two weeks before the bill first passed through the House.īristol herself will not qualify - as she now earns more than the income threshold allows - and said many other grandparents won’t either. It’s not a productive policy.” Cole said. “When the real issue is, ‘What does this person need to feed their families?’ it’s just not an efficient policy. Still, Texas is one of only 10 states that still has a vehicle asset test to qualify for SNAP.Ĭelia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, is pleased to see the bill pass but also wishes Texas would do away with considering vehicle values altogether. HB 1287 was a one-time adjustment due to the rise in car prices and food costs from recent and persistent inflation. But some of those families will qualify in September if their primary vehicle is valued under $22,500 and any additional vehicles are valued under $8,700. I had no beds, no clothes, I had to run out and get two car seats.”Īccording to Feeding Texas, a nonprofit food bank network that lobbied for HB 1287, more than 54,000 Texas SNAP applicants were rejected in 2022 due to the value of their vehicles. “I was denied because my car was over the income limit. “When I got my five grandkids, I went to apply for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,” Bristol said. The current SNAP policy in Texas - which was set in 2001 - disqualified applicants whose primary vehicle was valued at $15,000 or more and had additional vehicles valued at $4,650 or more. Texas looks at a household’s income but also factors in the value of a household’s cars, known as the vehicle asset test. Bristol and TXGRG, which helps other grandparents tasked with raising their grandkids, spent months trying to get House Bill 1287 passed in this year’s regular legislative session.Īlthough SNAP is a federal program that allows families access to food stamps, each state can set different requirements for eligibility. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that will enable thousands more Texans to qualify for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that provides financial assistance, commonly referred to as food stamps. She was tending both to her work as head of the nonprofit Texas Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and getting her youngest grandson, Paul Chavez, ready for a mariachi concert in the afternoon.īristol also had reason to celebrate the end of the workweek: Days earlier, Gov. Mercedes Bristol spent a recent Friday morning in her suburban San Antonio home sending emails, combing hair, answering calls and doing laundry for her grandson. Joe Timmerman/Texas Tribune Show More Show Less Joe Timmerman/Texas Tribune Show More Show Less 4 of4įrom left: Arihanna Battle, 13 Amare Battle, 11 Daequan Battle, 14 and Gloria Adams, 74, stand in front of their car outside their home in San Antonio on June 14. Even after a recent adjustment made by the state Legislature, the value of her car is still too high for Adams and her family to qualify for SNAP benefits.
Gloria Adams, intake coordinator with Texas Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and her five grandchildren’s primary caretaker, works from her home in San Antonio on June 14. Joe Timmerman/Texas Tribune Show More Show Less 3 of4 Joe Timmerman/Texas Tribune/Texas Tribune Show More Show Less 2 of4 Paul Chavez, 12, carries a laundry basket down the stairs for his grandmother, Mercedes Bristol. “We’re called the invisible foster care, the hidden foster care, nobody knows about this group of people that are raising grandchildren,” Bristol said. Bristol is the primary caretaker of her five grandchildren, including Paul, who is the youngest. Mercedes Bristol, 68, executive director of Texas Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, left, and her youngest grandson, Paul Chavez, 12, hold each other in their front yard in San Antonio on June 16.
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