States annually update Standard Utility Allowances (SUAs) to reflect changes in utility costs. When determining a household’s eligibility, states consider a household’s total shelter costs, including the cost of utilities. Since actual utility costs are often hard to determine, states can use SUAs, which are standard amounts that represent low-income household utility costs in the state or local area. SUAs may be used in lieu of the household's actual costs when determining eligibility and benefit amount.
We adjust SNAP maximum allotments, deductions, and income eligibility standards at the beginning of each federal fiscal year.
This memorandum provides the FY 2024 Cost-of-Living Adjustments to the SNAP maximum allotments, income eligibility standards, and deductions. Under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, COLAs are effective as of Oct. 1, 2023.
This memo transmits updates to the maximum size of WIC civil monetary penalties to reflect inflationary adjustments for 2022, as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act of 2015.
This policy memorandum transmits the Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) inflation adjustment for 2021 for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The adjustment was published in the Federal Register as part of the Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments for 2021 Final Rule published on May 10, 2021, at 86 FR 24699.
Any firm may request administrative and judicial review, if it is aggrieved by any of the actions described in SNAP regulations. The Administrative Review Branch ensures that FNS follows the provisions of the Food and Nutrition Act, SNAP regulations, and agency retailer policy, and that the agency's administrative actions are equitable and consistent.
WIC Policy Memorandum: #2021-2: WIC Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) Inflation Adjustment for 2020
This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals and free milk for the period from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.
The attached questions and answers provide policy clarifications to address state agency concerns regarding the Food and Nutrition Service's Feb. 8, 2019, Information Memorandum which discussed Section 4004 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.
The Food and Nutrition Service seeks to prevent firms authorized to participate in SNAP from delaying administrative actions, such as disqualification or civil money penalties, through submission of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests or appeals. As such, FNS is proposing that FOIA requests and FOIA appeals be processed separately from administrative actions FNS takes against retail food stores. This proposed rule would ensure that retail food stores can no longer use the FOIA process to delay FNS' administrative actions to sanction a retail food store for SNAP violations.