Using Claude at a Nonprofit

Exercise 2: Check before using

12 minutes. Work with a partner.

A client asks you if her family might get SNAP (food stamps). There are four people in her family. You want to know the most a family of four can earn in a month and still get SNAP.

Step 1: ask Claude (3 minutes)

Type this:

What is the gross monthly income limit for SNAP for a household of four?

Write down the number Claude gives:

Did Claude say what dates that number is for? Did it say where it came from?

Step 2: check the source (4 minutes)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture sets this number. Go to its page:

fns.usda.gov/snap/allotment/cola

Find the table called "Gross Monthly Income Limit". Find the row for a household of 4, in the column for the 48 states.

Write down the number from the source:

Does it match what Claude said? What dates does the source say the number is good for?

Step 3: when sources disagree (5 minutes)

Now read these two short quotes about Tennessee.

Quote 1

A news story, June 2026: "the Tennessee Department of Human Services has adopted broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE). That move raises the SNAP gross-income threshold from 130% to 200%"

Quote 2

The USDA's own list of the states that use that rule (BBCE) does not include Tennessee.

If the news story is right, the limit for a family of four in Tennessee is much higher. If the USDA list is right, it isn't. Talk with your partner:

  1. What would you tell the client?
  2. Who could give you the real answer?

What to take away: Claude can be out of date, and so can a website. Check the official source and its dates. When good sources disagree, don't guess. Tell the client to apply anyway, and call the agency or 211 to find out.