1107 Homeless Food Assistance Households

Homeless food assistance households as defined in the Glossary Manual shall be permitted to use their food assistance benefits to purchase prepared meals from homeless meal providers who meet the qualifications below. Homeless Meals Provider A homeless meal provider shall mean a public or private nonprofit establishment (soup kitchen, temporary shelters), approved by the Department of Human Resources and USDA, that feed homeless individuals. Responsibilities of the Meal Provider The meal provider shall: 1. Be approved by the County Department of Human Resources. 2. File an application with the officer-in-charge at FNS. 3. Provide sufficient data on the nature and scope of the business conducted by the applicant to FNS. 4. Serve meals that include food purchased by the establishment. A meal provider which serves meals which consist wholly of donated foods will not be eligible for authorization. 5. Ensure that only homeless individuals are served prepared meals. 6. Ensure that food assistance participants are not charged for meals; the meal provider can only accept food assistance as donations. Homeless meal providers may not redeem food stamps through financial institutions for cash. The homeless meal provider is restricted to redeeming food assistance received by homeless recipients through authorized wholesale outlets and authorized retail food stores. Homeless meal providers will not be permitted to serve as an authorized representative for the homeless food assistance household. Responsibilities of the County Department The county department shall: 1. Make one on-site visit to the meal provider. 2. Determine that the establishment/shelter is serving prepared meals to the homeless. 3. Confirm the county department’s approval in writing; maintaining a copy of the approval in the county file and 4. Inform the homeless individuals that they may be served prepared meals from approved shelters/establishments and may donate their stamps for these meals. The county department may wish to consider issuing all or a large part of a homeless individual’s monthly allotment in $2.00 books. Counties choosing this option should ensure that their inventory is adequate to meet this demand by ordering additional $2.00 books. Use of Food Assistance to Purchase Meals from Approved Restaurants Homeless food assistance persons as defined in the Glossary and Index shall be allowed to use their food assistance to purchase meals from restaurants approved by the Department of Human Resources and USDA. Responsibilities of the Restaurant 1. Sign a contract at the DHR office. The contract shall specify the approximate prices which will be charged for meals. If the meals are discounted from the regular prices, the amount of the discount shall be included. The amount of the reduction is a matter of resolution between the county department and the restaurant and may be whatever the two parties deem to be reasonable. The contract shall specify that no sales tax will be charged on the food purchased with food assistance benefits. 2. Acquire a copy of the contract. 3. Contact USDA (334-279-3665). USDA will inform the representative from the restaurant of the steps he must complete to finish the application process. USDA will be responsible for the licensing of the restaurants. 4. Accept food assistance benefits only from homeless individuals. This shall be accomplished by one of the following: a) Require the recipient’s ID card (this card shall be marked with a CD and an expiration date) or b) The restaurant knows that the food assistance recipient is homeless and entitled to use the benefits to purchase prepared meals. Responsibilities of the County Department 1. Inform restaurants that they must come to the appropriate county DHR office and sign a contract. The contract should be signed by a representative from the restaurant and the County Director or his/her designee. 2. Provide a copy of the signed contract to the restaurant. 3. Inform the restaurant to contact the Officer-In-Charge at USDA (334-279-3665) about the remaining steps they must complete to be certified to receive food assistance. 4. Maintain a copy of the signed contract in the office. 5. Mark the homeless recipient’s ID card with the letters CD and an expiration date. 6. Remove the letters CD and the expiration date when the homeless household no longer meets the criteria to purchase meals at restaurants. Inform homeless households that they may purchase meals with their food assistance from approved restaurants.