You have a right to use your SNAP in all 50 states. SNAP is a federal program that is “interoperable” between states. 7 C.F.R. §274.8(b)(10). Many SNAP recipients live near and shop in border states – such as New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York. Often some of the large grocery stores are closer and/or cheaper.
If you are temporarily visiting family and friends, you can also use your SNAP benefits while out of state. DTA should not assume you have abandoned your MA residency or threaten to close your SNAP case solely because you are shopping out of state.
Contrary to federal SNAP rules, DTA has a policy of requiring Simplified Reporting and Bay State Cap households to re-prove MA residency when they shop out of state. 7 CFR 273.12(c)(3). Contact MLRI if you lost SNAP because DTA asked you to re-prove your residency when you were temporarily out of state.