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DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES FAMILY INVESTMENT ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) MANUAL HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION Section 100 Page 1

100 Household Composition Maryland’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), helps low-income families buy the food they need for a nutritionally adequate diet. SNAP benefits represent federal dollars that are spent in the communities our customers live in. Recent national estimates show that every $5 of SNAP spent generates at least $9 in the local economy. 100.1 Purpose This section defines the eligibility group called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) household. It describes who is and is not part of the group for SNAP purposes. It also describes certain persons who are not eligible to receive SNAP benefits and persons who have eligibility only in special situations. 100.2 General Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Household Definition A. The eligible group for SNAP purposes is the SNAP household. B. A household may be one person or a group of people who live together and customarily purchase and prepare their food together. C. It is not necessary that the group of people share other non-household expenses. D. There is no requirement that the household has cooking facilities or common storage of food. E. No individual may participate as a member of more than one household in any month except when the individual is a resident of a shelter for battered women and children as described in Section 103 (Shelter Residents). F. If a person or group leaves a household, they must be permitted to apply and participate as a separate household the month after the move, if otherwise eligible. The remaining household members will receive benefits based on the reduced household size.

100.3 Required Household Combinations The following people who live together must be included in the same SNAP household. They cannot choose to be excluded on the basis of being a boarder, roomer or live-in attendant. When they claim separate living units in

REVIEWED MAY 2026