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Welcome to Bay State CAP
A new way to help you pay for food
By Roger Suters, Community
Services Director
Starting this month as many as 38,000 individuals in Massachusetts will receive a letter offering a new food assistance program, which provides an opportunity to buy fresh fruits and vegetables along with other nutritious food. If the account is utilized, the individual will automatically become enrolled in a program known as Bay State CAP (Combined Application Project.)
This new program was designed to provide more money for food for elders and people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI.) It is a special collaboration of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the United States Department of Agriculture and the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). According to Chris Meehan, Berkshire County Director of Transitional Assistance, approximately 1,000 Berkshire residents can expect to receive this announcement.
Participants in Bay State CAP will receive food assistance benefits for 36 months and have these benefits deposited in a specially created account. The Bay State Access Card and PIN operates similarly to credit or debit cards used for food shopping. When paying for groceries, you just hand the card to the cashier. Funds spent are automatically deducted from the account, and then the card is returned to you.
Those who receive the announcement letter will receive the Bay State Access Card a few days later (watch your mail for your card). Finally, the PIN will be sent a day or two later in an envelope with a light blue backing. With very few exceptions, monthly food assistance benefits for CAP participants range anywhere from $28 to $149 (average monthly benefit is about $65), depending mainly on ones housing costs. If you choose to join Bay State CAP, simply make a food purchase with your Bay State Access Card by August 12, 2005. You will receive a separate letter telling you about your continued eligibility, monthly assistance amount, and caseworker's name during the last two weeks of August. If you choose not to be part of Bay State CAP, do not use your Bay State Access Card. Your account will be closed and reduced to zero on August 13, 2005.
Megan Eldridge, Elder Services Client Services Coordinator pointed out after attending an announcement seminar, “This is an excellent initiative that will add to the nearly $10 million of food assistance that is provided in Berkshire County each year . . . and the process is easy.”
For additional information, contact the Berkshire County DTA offices: North Adams - 1-413-663-1100; Pittsfield - 1-413-236-2000 or 1-800-932-7558 (toll free.)