Work Rules for Benefits Programs Deter Low-Income People from College, Advocates Say

Sergio Bocardo-Aguilar was hungry. A first-year student at the University of California at Davis, he worked at a restaurant but still couldn’t afford food. After his shifts, he would ask his friends for snacks or leftovers. Some nights he went right to sleep instead of having dinner. Bocardo-Aguilar wondered if public assistance programs could help him. But he didn’t qualify for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps. He worked two fewer hours per week than the program required — 18 instead of 20.