Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
Search Saved

Wisconsin program

Monthly grocery money (FoodShare)

Money on a card each month to help your household buy groceries.

What it is

Money on a card each month to help your household buy groceries.

FoodShare is Wisconsin's SNAP program. Current income and allowable deductions affect the monthly amount. A reduction in pay can change the result, even when the family did not qualify before.

Eligibility rules
  • From October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, gross monthly screens are: 2 people $3,526; 3 $4,442; 4 $5,360; 5 $6,276; 6 $7,192.
  • A member who meets FoodShare's disability definition can have eligible out-of-pocket medical costs above $35 monthly deducted. The amount owed counts, rather than only what has been paid.
What you get
  • Monthly grocery benefits on an electronic card.
  • No savings test for households qualifying under the 200% gross-income screen.
  • Benefits available within seven calendar days when an urgent eligibility route fits.
If you decide to apply
  1. Your social worker can help you decide whether to talk with the income maintenance or tribal agency about FoodShare.
  2. Have current income, housing and utility costs, and eligible disability-related medical bills ready.

ACCESS or your income maintenance or tribal agency; agency referral: 800-362-3002 · Official page ↗

If income changes
  • If you already receive FoodShare, a pay decrease can be reported voluntarily and may increase the benefit. There is no blanket ten-day duty to report every decrease. Most households must report an income month above their 130%-of-poverty reporting limit by the tenth of the following month. Your social worker can help check the reporting instructions on your notice.
Good to know

The maximum, $994 a month for four, is not what most families get; rent and utilities set the amount.

Other details
  • For the same 2025–2026 period, maximum monthly benefits are: 2 people $546; 3 $785; 4 $994; 5 $1,183; 6 $1,421.
  • FoodShare normally has a 30-day processing standard. Qualifying expedited households must be able to use benefits within seven calendar days: income under $150 with no more than $100 in liquid resources; a qualifying destitute migrant or seasonal-farmworker household with no more than $100 in liquid resources; or monthly gross income plus liquid resources below rent or mortgage and allowable utilities. Your social worker can help check whether any route fits.
  • The income and maximum-benefit figures here apply October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. The agency confirms the dated table for October 2026 or later before calculating your benefit.

Federal background: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could FoodShare help after a change in pay, which expenses would it deduct, and would you help us apply if the benefits outweigh the paperwork?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand whether grocery help could leave more of our income for treatment-related costs.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Apply with this month's income and say what medical costs you are being billed for.

Your social worker

The social worker can file with you and flag an urgent case.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
Your local income maintenance or tribal agency.
Ask your social worker
“Can we apply for FoodShare with this month's income, and does our situation meet the seven-day urgent route?”

How to apply

First step: Apply at access.wi.gov this week, and say if there is almost nothing left in the bank.

  1. Apply at access.wi.gov this week with this month's income.
  2. Say if there is almost nothing in the bank: that can make it urgent.
  3. Report the medical costs you are being billed for.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply at access.wi.gov, or through the agency.

What to gather

  • This month's pay for each adult
  • Rent or mortgage and utility bills
  • Medical bills you are being asked to pay

How long: Ordinary processing, or within seven days if one of the urgent routes fits.

What a yes looks like

A card with a monthly amount on it and a renewal date.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Over the income line. Ask them to look again the month a parent's pay drops.

Watch out

  • Report a pay drop straight away: the amount is worked out on this month.
  • Medical costs you are billed for count even if you have not paid them yet.
  • Almost no money in the bank can make the application urgent.

Dates that change this

2026-10-01: The income limits and the maximum amounts both roll on October 1, 2026. The replacement Wisconsin cells were not published when this was checked.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Up to $994 a month for four, $785 for three and $1,421 for six, on a card, with no savings test for most households.

  • $546/month — Largest monthly amount, household of 2
  • $785/month — Largest monthly amount, household of 3
  • $994/month — Largest monthly amount, household of 4
  • $1,183/month — Largest monthly amount, household of 5
  • $1,421/month — Largest monthly amount, household of 6
  • $5,360/month — Gross monthly income screen, household of 4 (200% of poverty)
  • $7 — Days for urgent processing when a qualifying route fits
  • $35/month — Monthly out-of-pocket medical costs above which a deduction can apply, for a member who counts as disabled

Legal protection: Households that pass on the 200% gross screen have no asset test

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
gross monthly income at or under 200% of the poverty line, under broad-based categorical eligibility
Assets
no asset test for those households
Medical deduction
out-of-pocket costs over $35 a month for a member who counts as disabled; the obligation incurred counts, not the amount paid
Priority
Qualifying expedited households must have benefits available within seven calendar days; the normal processing standard is 30 days.

The trap: Out-of-pocket medical costs over $35 a month for a household member who counts as disabled can be deducted, and it is the amount you are billed that counts, not the amount you have managed to pay. Say so when you apply.

Where I read this

← Back to your options