But for years, when the 28-year-old Brooklyn mom went to check on her food stamps benefits she might as well have been using a landline. Reviewing her balance required dialing into a hotline and entering her entire card number. All she could access was the sum of her funds—there was no way of breaking down how and when she'd spent the money.
There is an endless variety of apps designed to manage life for the upper middle class, but low-income Americans—a group that spends a disproportionate amount of its budget on basic necessities—don't benefit from the same time-saving hacks. Registering for housing assistance or putting food on the table requires reams of paperwork, DMV-esque long waits, and thorough interviews—many of which have to be completed in person. Apps have inarguably made life easier, but only for those who already have resources to spare.
There is an endless variety of apps designed to manage life for the upper middle class, but low-income Americans—a group that spends a disproportionate amount of its budget on basic necessities—don't benefit from the same time-saving hacks. Registering for housing assistance or putting food on the table requires reams of paperwork, DMV-esque long waits, and thorough interviews—many of which have to be completed in person. Apps have inarguably made life easier, but only for those who already have resources to spare.
Read more at https://www.wired.com/story/startups-are-finally-taking-on-food-stamps/.
