Food is a Human Right.

FoodShare is a federal program and Wisconsin’s first line of defense against hunger. Funded 100% by the USDA, FoodShare is an entitlement program, meaning it assists people who have low incomes and difficulty affording food to get monthly help to make ends meet.

FoodShare provides food buying power at the grocery store through an EBT card called Quest. Eligibility is based on household income, size and shelter costs. You can apply online, over the phone, by mail or receive in-person help.

You can apply for FoodShare, manage your case, check your balance and submit documents online at access.wisconsin.gov. If you are unemployed, we encourage you to apply for both Unemployment and FoodShare.

You can apply online, complete your eligibility interview over the phone and use the MyACCESS app on your smart phone to upload required proof called “verification” and manage benefits.

*The application will open in a new window through the State of Wisconsin website.

See If You Can Get Help!

Answer a few questions to learn which programs may be able to help you.

Wisconsin has many different programs that can help you with health care coverage, paying for food or child care costs, finding a job, and more.

The questionaire will open in a new window through the State of Wisconsin website.

Frequently Asked FoodShare Questions

With high unemployment, many people need emergency food.

Federal nutrition programs can help meet the need during times like these. Our federal and state governments have improved food programs and made it easier to help you keep putting food on the table.

Tips for protecting your FoodShare benefits:

• • Monitor account balances on the MyACCESS mobile app or ebtEDGE website or mobile app.
  • Add or change optional account passwords to limit unauthorized access.
  • Do not share account passwords and PINs with anyone who is not part of your household.
  • Create unique account passwords and PINs.
  • Avoid using email addresses and the names of family members and pets for passwords.
  • Avoid using your birth date and year, as well as repeating numbers, such as 1111, numbers in a row, like 2345, and numbers that follow a pattern, like 1212, for PINs.​
  • Temporarily freeze QUEST cards between uses by using the ebtEDGE website or mobile app. When members need to purchase food, they will need to unfreeze their cards using the ebtEDGE website or mobile app. This helps prevent unauthorized benefit use.
  • Block out-of-state and online purchases. Members can turn off this feature before traveling out of state or shopping for groceries online.
  • Confirm that an email or text about your FoodShare benefits is from DHS, not a scammer. DHS sends official FoodShare texts from 94347 (WI DHS) and emails from [email protected]. DHS FoodShare texts and emails never ask members for personal information, such as a birthday or Social Security number, or financial information, like a bank account or credit card number. DHS does not offer prizes or money to members for responding to these texts and emails.

Who you should call if you have questions about your FoodShare benefits or to report suspicious account activity?

• • Check your FoodShare card balance by calling QUEST Card Service at 877-415-5164 or using the MyACCESS mobile app, ebtEDGE website, or ebtEDGE mobile app. Using only these tools to check your card balance helps prevent unauthorized card access.
  • Call your local agency to ask about suspicious FoodShare account activity, check account information, establish an account password, and ask general benefit questions.
  • Call QUEST Card Service 24/7 to change PINs, immediately report lost or stolen cards, and to report suspicious FoodShare acount activity outside of your local agency’s business hours.
  • Report any emails or texts about your FoodShare benefits that are not sent to you by DHS to the agency that issues your benefits and Wisconsin’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 800-422-7128 or [email protected]. This hotline is run by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Be sure to avoid clicking any links in the email or text message or calling the phone number that sent you the text message or any phone number in the message.

Food is a human right. Know your rights.

FoodShare (SNAP) work requirements have expanded, and more Wisconsin residents may now be impacted.

Recent changes extend work requirements to a broader age group and apply them to more households. Adults ages 18–64 without exemptions may now be required to meet monthly work requirements to keep their FoodShare benefits. Previously, this policy applied only through age 54.

For the first time in the program’s history, adults with children 14 years or older in their household are also required to meet work requirements to maintain benefits.

Individuals who are required to meet the policy must document 80 hours per month of qualifying activity. This may apply to:

• Adults ages 18–64 without exemptions
• Some parents and caregivers whose youngest child is age 14 or older. Previously, many caregivers were exempt if they had a child under age 18 in the home

What counts toward the 80 hours:

• Paid work or self-employment
• Volunteering or community service
• Approved training programs, including FSET

Have you lost benefits due to not meeting a work requirement?

If you do not meet the work requirement, you can only get three months of FoodShare benefits in a three-year period without meeting the work requirement if you don’t have an exemption.The current three-year period goes from January 2025 to December 2027.

You can get FoodShare benefits again by meeting the work requirement for 30 days, showing you will meet the work requirement in 30 days, having an exemption, or having good cause.

For assistance, contact Milwaukee Enrollment Services (Milwaukee County residents) at (888) 947-6583. If you’re not a resident of Milwaukee County, find your local agency HERE.

Printable Resources

These resources provide helpful information in an easy-to-read, printable format to share. Learn more about Emergency FoodShare benefits, how to apply and information about the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program with the flyers below, available in English, Spanish, Hmong, Burmese and other languages.

Video Resources

SNAP (the federal term for FoodShare) is hands-down, the best anti-hunger program in the nation. For more than 40 years, it has proven over and over to respond to economic crises, so if families lose work, they’ll still have some help putting food on the table.