FACT CHECK: Viral Image Claims To Show Phone Number For Receiving Emergency Food Stamps

Matt Noel | Fact Check Reporter

An image shared on Facebook more than 46,000 times purportedly shows the phone number people can call to get emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Verdict: False

The number is not listed in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) directory of local SNAP offices and does not match the National Hunger Hotline. It comes from a popular 2005 rap song.

Fact Check:

SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, are vouchers that low income Americans can use to buy food at approved retailers. States run and administer the program, while the federal government funds the benefits, according to the USDA website.

A viral image falsely alleges in a post that people can call the telephone number 281-330-8004 to receive emergency food stamps, despite the number appearing nowhere on the USDA’s directory of local SNAP offices. Nor does it match that of the USDA’s National Hunger Hotline. (RELATED: Do Whites Make Up The Largest Share Of Food Stamps, Medicaid Recipients?)

“The phone number provided in the post is fake and should not be contacted for information about USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),” said a USDA spokesperson in an email to the Daily Caller.

The phone number belonged to rapper Mike Jones, who famously rapped it about half-way through his 2005 song “Back Then.” Jones claimed he received thousands of calls a day after the song’s release, though it now appears to have been disconnected.

Matt Noel

Fact Check Reporter
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