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VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION

10/24 VOLUME V, PART VI, PAGE 14

services, or if meals are prepared at a central location for delivery to the individual residents.

If residents purchase and/or prepare food for their own consumption, as opposed to communal dining, the group living arrangement must ensure that each resident's SNAP benefits are used for meals intended for that resident.

If residents retain use of their own SNAP benefits, then they may either use the benefits to purchase meals prepared for them by the facility, if group home is authorized by FNS, or purchase food to prepare meals for their own consumption.

If the facility is acting as the authorized representative for the resident, the SNAP benefits may be handled in any of the following ways:

1) The facility may spend the benefits, prepare and serve the food to the resident;

2) Spend the SNAP benefits and allow the resident to prepare the food; or

3) Allow the resident to use some or all of the benefits on his or her own behalf.

If the resident applied on his own behalf, the resident may provide the SNAP benefits to the facility to purchase food for meals served either communally or individually for eligible residents. The eligible resident may also use the SNAP benefits to purchase and prepare food for individual consumption or to purchase meals prepared and served by the group living arrangement.

b. Accessing and Using SNAP Benefits

To access SNAP benefits, each household or representative must have an EBT card. Residents of group living arrangements will receive an EBT card. If the household has an authorized representative, the representative will also receive an EBT card to use on behalf of the household.

The household or authorized representative must use SNAP benefits for food prepared by or served to the resident. If the group home has a POS device, at the beginning of each month, the household or authorized representative must use the individual household's EBT card to access one-half of the monthly benefit. If the group home does not have a POS device, the household or authorized representative must use each resident's EBT card at the grocery store. If the authorized representative is a representative of the group home, the representative may access up to one-half the benefit amount at the beginning of each month. The group home representative may access the second half of the benefits on or after the 16th of each month if the resident remains in the group home as of the 16th day of the month.

TRANSMITTAL #35