State officials brief committee on SNAP caseload, work rules and outreach programs

At a meeting of the Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry Committee, Miranda Gray, deputy commissioner for the Economic Services Division, and Leslie Wisdom, director of the Food and Nutrition Team, gave an overview of 3 Squares Vermont (the state name for SNAP), eligibility rules, program innovations and related nutrition programs.

The presentation emphasized program scale and financial flow. "It is a federal program. The benefits are 100% federally funded, and then states and the federal government share fiftyfifty in the cost to administer the program," Gray said. Vermont currently has 39,288 households enrolled — 65,525 individuals, or just over 10% of the state's population — receiving almost $13,000,000 in benefits each month.

Why it matters: SNAP is the state's largest food assistance program and a primary conduit of federal food dollars into local grocery stores, farmers markets and farm stands. Committee members asked questions about benefit amounts, eligibility, administrative performance and recent federal changes that affect exemptions.

Officials summarized key program rules and measures. Eligibility generally uses a gross-income ceiling at 185% of the federal poverty level and a net-income test; example thresholds presented included roughly $2,322 per month for a single adult at 185% and about $4,810 per month for a family of four. Benefit levels follow the federal Thrifty Food Plan: the presenters cited the Thrifty Food Plan amounts used in federal calculations (about $292 per person per month and a $975 maximum for a household of four). Gray noted those federal standards were adjusted for inflation in October 2024.

Vermont runs several targeted innovations. A demonstration called "3 SNAP" uses a shortened application (four pages, about 15 questions, versus the standard 15-page 45-question form) and three-year certifications for older adults and people with disabilities; about half of the state’s SNAP population currently participates in 3 SNAP or the related cash-out option. Under the cash-out option — available in Vermont to households meeting federal criteria (for example, households where every member is age 65 or older or has a disability) — benefits can be issued as cash on an EBT card or directly deposited to reduce stigma and broaden usability.

Work requirements and exemptions drew substantial discussion. Gray outlined two federal work-rule categories: a broad set of rules for those ages 16–59 that the federal government labels as a work requirement and a narrower mandatory participation requirement (about 80 hours per month) for a smaller cohort the federal government considers "able to work." Vermont officials listed the major exemptions: people working 30+ hours/week (about 4,700 people), people with documented medical exemptions (nearly 12,000), youth in school (about 20,000), caretakers of a child under 6 (about 1,200), people on unemployment (444), people participating in Reach Up (about 3,400), veterans, homelessness and former foster youth as new exemptions under the 2024 Fiscal Responsibility Act. Agency staff said 425 people are currently enrolled in SNAP who are not exempt and are not meeting the narrower requirement; participants who fail to meet the requirement for three months in a 36-month period risk benefit termination.

Agency performance measures and operational issues were highlighted. Vermont’s most recent payment error rate (federal fiscal 2024, preliminary) was cited at 5.17%; Gray said Vermont ranked third best in the country on payment accuracy for recent years. Timeliness — the share of applications processed within federal deadlines (30 days for regular applications; seven days for expedited cases) — was reported at 94.55%, placing Vermont 16th; staff said the division is in corrective action after two quarters under 90% and is prioritizing improvements. Call-center wait times and some manual internal processes remain areas for improvement; the agency said it is working with outside reviewers and has a new online work-requirement screener developed with Hunger Free Vermont.

Officials outlined nutrition and work-support programs run alongside SNAP. Presenters described SNAP Education (nutrition and budgeting instruction), Individual Career Advancement Network (ICAN) services that provide job-search case management and expense reimbursements (average reimbursement about $208; average participant age 44), and Farm to Family coupons for markets (a $30 coupon book for eligible households; $48 for seniors). In 2024, Farm to Family operated at 43 farmers markets and 20 farm stands; customers redeemed just over $95,000 in coupons. A new Summer EBT grocery benefit, launched in federal 2024, provides $120 per eligible child for the summer months; Vermont distributed about $4.7 million to roughly 39,000 children in 2024 and is preparing for 2025.

Committee members raised policy concerns and practical questions: whether cash-out benefits could be diverted to nonfood uses (officials said they had not seen misuse evidence and emphasized the option targets older adults and people with disabilities), how SNAP education helps households stretch benefits, and the agency’s readiness for possible federal budget or policy changes. Gray said the division is monitoring federal developments closely and making contingency plans.

The presentation concluded with staff offering to provide additional details (for example, specific state funding shares for Farm to Family) and committee members thanking the agency. No formal committee action or vote was taken on SNAP policy at the meeting.