This memorandum provides information on the exclusion as income of rebates under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 in FDPIR, TEFAP, and CSFP.
Welcome to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s Household Certification Training course for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. FDPIR is a federal program that provides USDA foods to low-income households living on Indian reservations, in designated areas near reservations, and in the State of Oklahoma. FNS developed the FDPIR Household Certification Training course to help Indian Tribal Organization (ITO) and state agency certification workers and their supervisors successfully administer the program.
On Dec. 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021. This Act excludes federal pandemic unemployment compensation payments authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act from consideration as income for the purposes of determining FDPIR eligibility.
This memorandum provides revised policy guidance on certification periods pertaining to zero income households in FDPIR. FNS Handbook 501 provides that households who report zero income month after month must be asked as to how they sustain themselves and other household members.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide questions and answers to help Indian Tribal Organizations and state agencies implement provisions of the final rule: Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations: Income Deductions & Resource Eligibility.