Federal and State Programs Conferring CSFP Income Eligibility

This memorandum provides CSFP state agencies, including ITOs, with guidance on the requirements for conferring CSFP income eligibility through participation in specific federal programs or state programs with income eligibility guidelines at or below the state agency’s CSFP threshold, per 7 CFR 247.9(b)(1) and (2). State agencies may optionally implement these provisions. State agencies which opt to implement one or both of these provisions must submit a state plan amendment following the process outlined in FD-157, Guidance for Submitting Amendments to CSFP State Plans to outline the federal and/or state level programs that will be accepted as conferring CSFP income eligibility. Beginning on Dec. 30, 2024, state agencies that have an approved state plan amendment on file may accept participation in identified programs as demonstrating income eligibility for CSFP.

Federal Programs Conferring CSFP Income Eligibility

Per 7 CFR 247.9(b)(1), state agencies may accept as income-eligible for CSFP benefits any applicant who documents that they are fully eligible for any of the federal programs listed below. State agencies may select any program or combination of these programs as conferring income eligibility within their state.

• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),
• The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR),
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
• The Low-Income Subsidy Program (LIS), and
• the Medicare Savings Programs (MSP).

State Programs Conferring CSFP Income Eligibility

Per 7 CFR 247.9(b)(2), state agencies may accept, as evidence of income within the state agency’s CSFP guidelines, documentation of the applicant’s participation in state-administered programs not specified in the regulations that routinely require documentation of income, provided the programs have income eligibility guidelines at or below the state agency’s CSFP threshold. It is the state agency’s responsibility to identify and confirm income limits of any state-level programs that confer CSFP income eligibility.

Documentation of Participation in Federal or State Programs

To demonstrate income eligibility via participation in a federal or state-level program, applicants must document that they are certified as fully eligible for the federal program(s) listed at 7 CFR 247.9(b)(1) or document participation in any state-level program(s) identified per 7 CFR 247.9(b)(2). State agencies must describe in their state plan the method(s) of documentation that they will accept as demonstrating income eligibility for or participation in the program(s); and must apply those methods uniformly throughout the state. State agencies may allow self-attestation as a method for participants to document their participation in other programs.

Requesting Additional Income Information from Participants

Per 7 CFR 247.9(b)(3), applicants who are determined to be income eligible based on their participation in federal or state programs identified by the state agency shall not be subject to the income limits set at 7 CFR 247.9(b). CSFP local agencies should not request additional income information (e.g., monthly income) from participants who are determined to be income eligible via another federal or state-level program per 7 CFR 247.9(b)(1) or (2).

State agencies may direct any questions to their respective FNS regional office.

Sara Olson
Director
Policy Division
Supplemental Nutrition and Safety Programs