Appendix A_Food and Nutrition Act 5(h)_0584-0336

Appendix A

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FOOD AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2008
[As Amended Through P.L. 115–334, Enacted December 20, 2018]
øCurrency: This publication is a compilation of the text of Public Law 88-525. It was
last amended by the public law listed in the As Amended Through note above and
below at the bottom of each page of the pdf version and reflects current law
through the date of the enactment of the public law listed at https://
www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/comps/¿
øNote: While this publication does not represent an official version of any Federal
statute, substantial efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents.
The official version of Federal law is found in the United States Statutes at Large
and in the United States Code. The legal effect to be given to the Statutes at
Large and the United States Code is established by statute (1 U.S.C. 112, 204).¿
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1
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1. ø2011 note¿ Short title.
2. ø2011¿ Declaration of policy.
3. ø2012¿ Definitions.
4. ø2013¿ Establishment of the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
5. ø2014¿ Eligible households.
6. ø2015¿ Eligibility disqualifications.
7. ø2016¿ Issuance and use of program benefits.
8. ø2017¿ Value of allotment.
9. ø2018¿ Approval of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns.
10. ø2019¿ Redemption of program benefits.
11. ø2020¿ Administration.
12. ø2021¿ Civil penalties and disqualification of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns.
13. ø2022¿ Collection and disposition of claims.
14. ø2023¿ Administrative and judicial review.
15. ø2024¿ Violations and enforcement.
16. ø2025¿ Administrative cost-sharing and quality control.
17. ø2026¿ Research, demonstration, and evaluations.
18. ø2027¿ Authorization for appropriations.
19. ø2028¿ Consolidated block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa.
20. ø2029¿ Workfare.
22. ø2031¿ Minnesota Family Investment Project.
23. ø2032¿ Automated data processing and information retrieval systems.
25. ø2034¿ Assistance for community food projects.
26. ø2035¿ Simplified supplemental nutrition assistance program.
27. ø2036¿ Availability of commodities for the emergency food assistance program.
28. ø2036a¿ Nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program.
29. ø2036b¿ Retail food store and recipient trafficking.
30. ø2036d¿ Pilot projects to encourage the use of public-private partnerships
committed to addressing food insecurity.

1 This

table of contents is not part of the Act but is included for user convenience. The
numbers in brackets refer to section numbers in title 7, United States Code.

1
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Appendix A

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Sec. 5

FOOD AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2008

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financial resources that the State agency does not consider
when determining eligibility for—
(i) cash assistance under a program funded under
part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
601 et seq.); or
(ii) medical assistance under section 1931 of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396u–1).
(B) LIMITATIONS.—Except to the extent that any of the
types of resources specified in clauses (i) through (iv) are
excluded under another paragraph of this subsection, subparagraph (A) does not authorize a State agency to exclude—
(i) cash;
(ii) licensed vehicles;
(iii) amounts in any account in a financial institution that are readily available to the household; or
(iv) any other similar type of resource the inclusion in financial resources of which the Secretary determines by regulation to be essential to equitable determinations of eligibility under the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
(7) EXCLUSION OF RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS FROM ALLOWABLE
FINANCIAL RESOURCES.—
(A) MANDATORY EXCLUSIONS.—The Secretary shall exclude from financial resources under this subsection the
value of—
(i) any funds in a plan, contract, or account, described in sections 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408, 408A,
457(b), and 501(c)(18) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 and the value of funds in a Federal Thrift Savings Plan account as provided in section 8439 of title
5, United States Code; and
(ii) any retirement program or account included in
any successor or similar provision that may be enacted
and determined to be exempt from tax under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(B) DISCRETIONARY EXCLUSIONS.—The Secretary may
exclude from financial resources under this subsection the
value of any other retirement plans, contracts, or accounts
(as determined by the Secretary).
(8) EXCLUSION OF EDUCATION ACCOUNTS FROM ALLOWABLE
FINANCIAL RESOURCES.—
(A) MANDATORY EXCLUSIONS.—The Secretary shall exclude from financial resources under this subsection the
value of any funds in a qualified tuition program described
in section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or in
a Coverdell education savings account under section 530 of
that Code.
(B) DISCRETIONARY EXCLUSIONS.—The Secretary may
exclude from financial resources under this subsection the
value of any other education programs, contracts, or accounts (as determined by the Secretary).
(h)(1) The Secretary shall, after consultation with the official
empowered to exercise the authority provided for by sections 402
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Appendix A

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FOOD AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2008

Sec. 5

and 502 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), establish temporary emergency standards of eligibility for the duration of the emergency for
households who are victims of a disaster which disrupts commercial channels of food distribution, if such households are in need of
temporary food assistance and if commercial channels of food distribution have again become available to meet the temporary food
needs of such households. Such standards as are prescribed for individual emergencies may be promulgated without regard to section 4(c) of this Act or the procedures set forth in section 553 of
title 5 of the United States Code.
(2) The Secretary shall—
(A) establish a Disaster Task Force to assist States in implementing and operating the disaster program and the regular supplemental nutrition assistance program in the disaster
area; and
(B) if the Secretary, in the Secretary’s discretion, determines that it is cost-effective to send members of the Task
Force to the disaster area, the Secretary shall send them to
such area as soon as possible after the disaster occurs to provide direct assistance to State and local officials.
(3)(A) The Secretary shall provide, by regulation, for emergency allotments to eligible households to replace food destroyed in
a disaster. The regulations shall provide for replacement of the
value of food actually lost up to a limit approved by the Secretary
not greater than the applicable maximum monthly allotment for
the household size.
(B) The Secretary shall adjust issuance methods and reporting
and other application requirements to be consistent with what is
practicable under actual conditions in the affected area. In making
this adjustment, the Secretary shall consider the availability of the
State agency’s offices and personnel, any conditions that make reliance on electronic benefit transfer systems described in section 7(h)
impracticable, and any damage to or disruption of transportation
and communication facilities.
(i)(1) For purposes of determining eligibility for and the
amount of benefits under this Act for an individual who is an alien
as described in section 6(f)(2)(B) of this Act, the income and resources of any person who as a sponsor of such individual’s entry
into the United States executed an affidavit of support or similar
agreement with respect to such individual, and the income and resources of the sponsor’s spouse if such spouse is living with the
sponsor, shall be deemed to be the income and resources of such
individual for a period of three years after the individual’s entry
into the United States. Any such income deemed to be income of
such individual shall be treated as unearned income of such individual.
(2)(A) The amount of income of a sponsor, and the sponsor’s
spouse if living with the sponsor, which shall be deemed to be the
unearned income of an alien for any year shall be determined as
follows:
(i) the total yearly rate of earned and unearned income of
such sponsor, and such sponsor’s spouse if such spouse is living
December 20, 2018