The purpose of this instruction is to establish the general standards and procedures that the state distributing agency must follow in order to ensure that restitution is made for the loss of donated foods, or for the loss or improper use of funds provided for, or accruing from, the distribution of donated foods.
Policy Memorandum No. FD-022, Adjusted Guide Rates for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (issued June 9, 2003), is cancelled. Refer to Exhibit 0 of FNS Handbook 501 for the current guide rates for fresh produce.
To ensure program integrity, school districts must sample household applications certified for free or reduced-price meals, contact the households, and verify eligibility. This process (known as household verification) can be burdensome for both school officials and households. Direct verification uses information from certain other means-tested programs to verify eligibility without contacting applicants. Potential benefits include: less burden for households, less work for school officials, and fewer students with school meal benefits terminated because of nonresponse to verification requests.
This memo is in response to questions raised through Quality Control reviews related to student eligibility for SNAP benefits. Section 6(e) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and federal regulations at 7 CFR 273.5(a) prohibit students enrolled at least half-time in an institution of higher education from receiving SNAP benefits unless specific exemptions are met.
A number of states and regional offices have approached FNS with further questions about the use of non-merit staff in the SNAP application and recertification process. These questions primarily revolved around the use of temporary non-merit staff and staff funded with non-SNAP funds. The following Questions and Answers are meant to further clarify questions raised by states and regional offices and also expand upon prior guidance.
On Dec. 22, 2009, Puerto Rico passed Law 191 of 2009 that voids all Puerto Rican birth certificates issued prior to July 1, 2010. Current Puerto Rican birth certificates remain valid until the July I, 2010 effective date of the new law. As a result of this recent legislation, FNS has been asked to provide guidance to state agencies as to the treatment of voided Puerto Rican birth certificates for SNAP purposes.
On June 21, 2010, Food and Nutrition Service issued policy guidance on how to treat household members whose Puerto Rican birth certificates were voided under Puerto Rico Law 191 of 2009. The SNAP policy was to go into effect July 1, 2010 to coincide with the effective date of the new law.
This policy memorandum clarifies the audit-related tracking and notification requirements for TEFAP state agencies and Eligible Recipient Agencies that further distribute or pass-through TEFAP food or funds to ERAs and are subject to audit requirements under 7 CFR Part 3052.
This final rule implemented 11 provisions of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (FSRIA), which established new eligibility and certification requirements for the receipt of food stamps.
When determining eligibility for FDPIR, the proposed rule would permanently exclude combat pay from being considered income and eliminate the maximum dollar limit of the dependent care deduction.