104 Residents of Institutions

Residents of institutions are not eligible for participation in the food assistance program. Individuals are considered residents of an institution when the institution provides them with the majority of their meals (over 50% of three meals daily) as part of the institution’s normal services and the institution has not been authorized to accept food assistance benefits. This includes individuals age 10 or older, who are incarcerated in federal, state, county or city facilities for more than 30 consecutive days. The following exceptions apply: 1. Residents of federally subsidized housing for the elderly, built under either Section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 or Section 236 of the National Housing Act. 2. Narcotic addicts or alcoholics who for the purpose of regular participation in a drug or alcohol treatment and rehabilitation program reside at a facility or treatment center as discussed in Section 1104. Residents of detoxification centers which only accept patients for three or four days at a time are not eligible to participate in the Food Assistance Program while residing at such centers. This policy does not apply to residents of those centers which offer detoxification as an initial phase to a longer term treatment and rehabilitation program, unless such residents are only accepted for the detoxification phase which lasts only three or four days. 3. Disabled individuals who are residents of group living arrangements as noted in Section 1105. 4. Individuals or individuals with their children temporarily residing in a shelter for battered persons as discussed in Section 1106. Such persons temporarily residing in shelters for battered individuals and children shall be considered individual household units for the purposes of applying for and participating in the program. 5. Residents of public or private non-profit shelters for homeless persons. 6. Residents of any institution which provides more than 50% of daily needs if all of the following conditions are met: a) The resident is unable to eat the meals provided. b) There is a verified need for a special diet. c) The institution is unable or unwilling to provide the diet. 7. Residents of public institutions who apply for SSI prior to their release from an institution under the Social Security Administration’s Pre-release Program for the Institutionalized shall be permitted to apply for food assistance at the same time they apply for SSI. Individuals who receive the majority of their meals through a meal plan are considered residents of an institution and are ineligible for food assistance. Individuals who do not receive the majority of their meals from a meal plan are not residents of an institution and may be eligible for food assistance, if they meet other eligibility criteria. Individuals of higher education may have mandatory or optional meal plans, both of which are considered normal services of an institution. Individuals who receive the majority of their meals through either a mandatory or optional meal plan are ineligible for food assistance. Students are considered residents of an institution if they receive more than 50 percent of their meals from the institution. The following meal plan examples illustrate how the eligibility worker may evaluate varying meal plan levels. Meal Plans: • Unlimited Plan: Designed for 3 meals everyday plus snacks (highest cost). • Level 4 Plan: Designed for 3 meals everyday (high cost). • Level 3 Plan: Designed for 2 meals everyday (moderate cost). • Level 2 Plan: Designed for about 2 meals a day on weekdays (lower cost). • Level 1 Plan: Designed for light snacks (lowest cost). In the examples above, the eligibility worker may assume that students receive less than 50 percent of their meals from the meal plan if they participate in Level 1 or Level 2. The eligibility worker may assume that students participating in Level 3, 4, or Unlimited Plans receive more than 50 percent of their meals from the institution and would be considered residents of an institution. In addition, even if the student receives less than 50 percent of their meals at an institution of higher learning, the student must still meet the student eligibility criteria in order to participate in the SNAP program.