PFS 18713-504 SNAP Eligibility for Puerto Rico Evacuees; October 16, 2017
A SNAP household is a person or a group of persons applying for or receiving SNAP benefits. The household may live in a house, apartment, or institutional setting (such as a group living arrangement or battered women’s shelter) or may be homeless.
The following are households:
A person living alone who buys food and prepares meals
7 CFR § 273.1(a)(1)
A person or group living with others who buy and prepare meals separately
Example: Judy and her two children share a house with Karen and her daughter. Judy and Karen are not related, and they prepare meals and eat separately. Judy (with her two children) and Karen (with her daughter) are two separate households. See Section 510.2.
A group of persons who live together and buy food and prepare meals together
7 CFR § 273.1(a)(3)
Example: Ken and Susan share an apartment with Susan's friend Lynne and her two daughters. They all eat together. All five people are one SNAP household.
Exception: Ken and Susan may be a separate household if they are elderly and cannot buy food and prepare meals because they are permanently disabled. See Section 510.41.
Each household chooses an adult member as the head of household at certification or when the household's makeup changes. The head of household may be any of the following:
A parent of children of any age living in the household
An adult who has parental control over children less than 18 years old living in the household
An adult member of a household with no children living in the household
The CAO must choose a head of household if all adult household members do not agree on who should be the head of household or do not choose a head of household.
The CAO must not:
Make special requirements, such as requiring the head of household to apply; or
Delay certification or deny benefits to otherwise eligible households because they did not choose a head of household.
Reissued March 1, 2012, replacing September 18, 2008