100 Household Definition

A. General Definition The food assistance household is composed of one of the following individuals or group of individuals, provided they are not residents of institutions except as specified in Section 104, or are not boarders as specified in Section 102. 1. An individual living alone. 2. An individual living with others but customarily purchasing food and preparing meals for home consumption separate and apart from others. Non-elderly disabled individuals must have the ability to purchase and prepare their food separately from others in the household in order to be given separate household status. This may be accomplished by a live-in attendant, someone outside the household or by the disabled individual himself. It can be accomplished by others in the household. 3. A group of individuals who live together and customarily purchase food and prepare meals together for home consumption. Exception: An elderly impaired household member and his/her spouse who purchase and prepare meals with other household members can be a separate food assistance household if both the following conditions are met. a) He/she is unable to purchase and prepare meals because of a disability considered permanent under the Social Security Act, or a non-disease related, severe permanent disability. b) The income of the others with whom the individual resides (excluding the income of the spouse of the elderly and disabled individual) does not exceed 165% of the poverty level. See Basis of Issuance for the 165% poverty level table. Note: The intent to purchase food and prepare meals separately may also establish separate household status, even if the intent is contingent upon the receipt of food assistance. Persons Residing in More Than One Household When an individual resides in more than one household for a portion of the same month, he/she can be included in only one of the households with the exception of residents of shelters for battered women and children as noted in Section 1106. Generally the determining factor for which household the above individual is to be included shall be the household in which the individual eats a majority of meals. Members Temporarily Out of the Home Household members who are away from home for part of a month shall continue to be a part of the food unit in determining eligibility level. Such include but are not limited to: 1. Those members who due to the traveling nature of their job are out of town part of the month and do not establish a separate residence; e.g., an interstate truck driver who eats meals part of the month at home with his family cannot be a separate household from his family. 2. Those members who are temporarily hospitalized if it is anticipated that the hospitalization will be less than a month. 3. Those members who are incarcerated if it can be anticipated that the incarceration will be less than 30 days. B. Special Definition The following individuals who live together shall be included in one food assistance household regardless of their method of purchasing food and preparing meals: 1. Spouses 2. Other than foster children, any child 17 years of age or younger under the parental control of any adult household member other than a parent. 3. Children (natural, adopted or step) 21 years of age or under living with their parents even if such children are themselves parents and/or married and living with their spouse. NOTE: a) Step parent and step child relationships should be considered as continuing as long as they live together, even if the natural parent leaves, gets a divorce or dies. b) Adoption of a child negates parent/child relationship. c) Children who spend the summer months away from their parent’s household cannot maintain their status as food assistance household members during their absence.