SNAP Eligibility Navigator

An interactive AI assistant to determine whether households may be eligible for SNAP benefits within minutes!

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Inspiration

We wanted to create an AI-powered tool that helps households with no knowledge of SNAP benefits eligibility policies understand whether they may qualify for the program. Our goal was to build an interactive, user-friendly navigator that provides clear information to the user based on their unique situation.

What it does

  • The application uses an AI-powered agent to analyse information from the user to verify if they are eligible for SNAP benefits
  • It provides a step-by-step, interactive navigator that guides users through a set of questions to obtain the required information
  • It translates confusing policy into a simple, user-friendly interface that helps families and individuals understand their potential eligibility
  • The tool connects to the Groq API safely, making sure that sensitive data and API keys are managed securely

How we built it

We used Python and the Groq API to give intelligent, real-time responses on SNAP's eligibility requirements. We used Streamlit to build the front-end user interface.

Challenges we ran into

We struggled with integrating the Groq API in a safe manner. I had included the secret API key in my repository, which triggered safety warnings. I learned to revoke the old key, rotate it, and secure it using environment secrets. This ensured that our application was safe to deploy.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • We successfully deployed a live web application on Streamlit Cloud
  • We built a working "SNAP Eligibility Navigator" that uses machine learning and AI to help households identify their eligibility status easily
  • We successfully integrated the Groq API to give intelligent, real-time responses to users' questions

What we learned

  • We learned to properly use st.secrets to ensure that our API key was kept safe when working with GitHub.
  • We also learned to make use of Streamlit to easily build the front-end interface.

What's next for SNAP Eligibility Navigator

  • We plan to expand the policy matrix to include all the states in the USA
  • We plan to further improve the conversational flow of the interview to make the experience more seamless and intuitive for families and individuals seeking information on the SNAP program
  • We plan to focus more on optimising the back-end responses to ensure that the user's experience is as quick and efficient as possible

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