10:87-3.12 Eligibility to use benefits for prepared meals

(a) The following individuals, if members of an eligible household, may use NJ SNAP benefits to purchase prepared meals from any communal dining facility, meal delivery service, substance abuse treatment center, group living arrangement, shelter for battered women and children or homeless meal provider which is currently authorized by FNS to accept NJ SNAP benefits. 1. Any member of an eligible household who is 60 years of age or older or members who receive SSI may use all or any part of his or her NJ SNAP benefits to purchase meals prepared at a communal dining facility authorized by FNS for that purpose. In addition, if such household member lives with his or her spouse, the spouse may also use benefits to purchase meals from a communal dining facility. 2. Any member of an eligible household who is 60 years of age or older, or members who are housebound, feeble, physically handicapped or otherwise disabled to the extent that they are unable to adequately prepare all their meals, may use all or any part of their benefits to purchase meals from a nonprofit meal delivery service. The spouse of such an individual may also use NJ SNAP benefits to purchase meals from a meal delivery service, regardless of age or disability. 3. Members of eligible households who are substance abusers and who regularly participate in a substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation program may use their benefits to purchase food prepared for them during the course of such program by a private nonprofit organization, institution or a publicly operated community mental health center authorized by FNS. 4. Members of eligible households who are residents of a private or public nonprofit facility, such as a GLA authorized by FNS to use their benefits to purchase food for meals served either communally or individually. i. If the residents apply on their own behalf, the CSSA shall certify these residents using the same provisions that apply to all households. If the FNS disqualifies the Group Living Arrangement (GLA) as an authorized retail food store, the CSSA shall suspend its authorized representative status for the same time; but residents applying on their own behalf will still be able to participate in the NJ SNAP program, if otherwise eligible. 5. Residents of shelters for battered women and children may use their benefits to purchase meals prepared especially for them at a shelter which has been authorized by FNS to redeem benefits at wholesalers, or which redeems at retailers as the authorized representative of participating households. 6. Homeless NJ SNAP households who obtain meals prepared for and served by an authorized public or private nonprofit establishment such as a soup kitchen or temporary shelter approved by the DFD or its designee. i. Homeless NJ SNAP households may use their benefits at restaurants who have entered into a contract with the CSSA to provide meals to homeless individuals and who have been approved by FNS to accept NJ SNAP benefits. History HISTORY: Amended by R.1979 d.422, eff. October 18, 1979. See: 11 N.J.R. 379(a), 11 N.J.R. 559(d). Amended by R.1982 d.474, eff. January 3, 1983. See: 14 N.J.R. 1081(b), 15 N.J.R. 35(a). References to group living and shelters for battered women, added. Amended by R.1989 d.121, effective February 21, 1989. See: 20 N.J.R. 2689(a), 21 N.J.R. 511(b). Substantially amended. Amended by R.2004 d.181, effective May 17, 2004. See: 36 N.J.R. 28(a), 36 N.J.R. 2425(a). Rewrote the section. Administrative change. See: 44 N.J.R. 1529(a).