Presentation slides (1.21 MB)
For low-income college students, the cost of basic needs like food can make it difficult to stay on track with school. Many college students may be eligible for SNAP to help with groceries, but a lack of awareness about the program and confusion about eligibility rules keep students from accessing benefits. In this session, FNS tackles the basics about student SNAP eligibility, building on guidance FNS released in 2023. This session covers what it means to be a student, what SNAP considers an institution of higher education and who needs to meet a student exemption to be eligible. This session also discusses how states can screen for student eligibility, how the student rules intersect with SNAP work requirements and some of the most promising practices for using data to target SNAP outreach to likely eligible students.
Presenters:
- Merrit Gillard, Lead Analyst, FNS-USDA
- Marcie Foster, Acting Director, Office of Employment and Training, FNS-USDA