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State of Wisconsin |
Release 26-01 |
7 CFR 273.3
Applicants for FoodShare benefits must live in or be temporarily absent from Wisconsin.
Guidelines for determining residency (see Section 1.2.3.5 Wisconsin Residency Verification):
| Note | Applicants already receiving other programs of assistance, such as BadgerCare, have already been determined to be living in Wisconsin. No further action is required to determine the applicant is living in Wisconsin. |
7 CFR 273.1(b)(1)(iii)
Children may only be included in one assistance group. Children are placed in the assistance group of the parent or caregiver that applied for benefits first.
If a child lives in a household without a caregiver or parent exercising parental authority, they may establish their own household for the purpose of applying for and receiving benefits.
Children may split their time in multiple different residences. There is no requirement for the amount of time children must reside with a caregiver or parent to be included in the assistance group.
| Example 1 | Steve applied for FoodShare for both him and his son, Mark. Steve reports that Mark lives with him three days per week and spends 4 days per week with Mark’s mother. Mark is included in Steve’s assistance group. |
| Example 2 | Betty’s parents have split custody. During the summer Betty alternates weeks, spending time with each parent. In June, Betty’s dad applies for FoodShare for himself and Betty. Betty is already receiving FoodShare on her mom’s case. Betty will continue to receive FoodShare on her mom’s case. |
| Note |
A person can be in more than one food unit but may only receive benefits in one FoodShare assistance group at a time. A person cannot be a member of more than one FoodShare assistance group in the same month (see Section 3.3.1 Food Unit/Assistance group/Relationships and Section 3.4.1 Dual Membership and Duplicate Benefits). |
Primary Caregiver or Parent
In most cases, children are included in the assistance group of the person who filed first. If this is not satisfactory, the parents or guardians must mutually decide which assistance group includes the children. This mutual agreement must be documented in the case file.
If there is a dispute regarding assistance group placement, then a primary caregiver or parent is determined by the IM worker. The children are then included within the primary caregiver or parent’s assistance group.
A court order a establishing a primary caregiver or parent should be followed. A court order may reference the person exercising parental control, the person with primary placement, or similar language.
When determining who the primary caregiver or parent is, compare activities and responsibilities against the list below. Eligibility workers are not required to address each question. They can be used to determine which parent or caregiver is exercising more parental control. This can be helpful in determining the primary caregiver or parent and FoodShare assistance group for the children.
| Example 3 | Mary and Aaron have shared custody of their child, Ryan. Aaron applied for and started receiving FoodShare benefits for himself and for Ryan. Three months later, Mary applies for FoodShare benefits for herself and Ryan. Mary confirms that both she and Aaron share custody of Ryan. However, Mary disagrees with Ryan being excluded from her FoodShare assistance group and included in Aaron’s FoodShare assistance group. Aaron and Mary cannot agree on a mutual arrangement. The worker must make a primary caregiver or parent determination. The worker reviews the details of the case and asks more questions of Aaron and Mary. This includes information about where Ryan goes to school and other responsibilities. Ryan spends days with Aaron and nights with Mary. However, Mary maintains a home for Ryan, he attends school in Mary's district, and Mary provides for most of Ryan’s needs. The worker determines that Mary is the primary caregiver or parent of Ryan. Ryan will receive FoodShare benefits as a part of Mary’s assistance group and leave Aaron’s assistance group. |
Nesting
“Nesting” or “bird's nest” custody is a joint custody arrangement where the children remain in the family home and the parents or caregivers take turns moving in and out of the family home. In other words, the parents are “visiting” the children instead of the children visiting the parents. The parents share financial responsibility for the home and the children. As long as the nesting agreement is in place and being followed, both parents and children will remain as one food unit and assistance group.
| Example 4 | Trudy and John have a nesting agreement in place. Trudy is staying the family home with the children Monday, Tuesday, and every other Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. John is staying in the family home with the children Thursday, Friday, and every other Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. The household bills such as mortgage, utilities, and child care expenses are shared between Trudy and John. As long as this agreement is in place and being followed, Trudy, John, and their children are all considered one food unit and assistance group. |
A FoodShare member is temporarily absent when they are out of the home for an extended period, with the intent of returning home. Multiple FoodShare members or an entire FoodShare household could be temporarily absent. There is no limit to the amount of time a member can be temporarily absent.
A member or household can stay in Wisconsin, out of state, or out of the country during their temporary absence. A member may be temporarily absent for various reasons. Examples of a temporary absence include, but are not limited to, illness or hospitalization, employment, caring for someone outside of one's home, child visitation schedules, and extended vacations.
To be considered temporarily absent, a person must have already been part of the food unit and receiving benefits before reporting the absence. A member or household's temporary absence status must be re-evaluated at renewal.
| Example 5 | Daniel applies for FoodShare on behalf of his roommate Grace and himself. Daniel says that Grace is currently receiving in-patient substance abuse treatment outside of Wisconsin and will return to the household sometime in the next few months. Grace is not considered temporarily absent since she was not a part of the household at the time of the application. She is not included in the assistance group. When Grace returns from treatment, she may be included in the assistance group if she passes all the non-financial and financial eligibility requirements. |
| Note | Do not require verification of Wisconsin residency for individuals or households claiming to be temporarily absent. |
A person is no longer considered temporarily absent, and ineligible for FoodShare in Wisconsin, when any of the following occur:
Additional Considerations
| Example 6 | John receives FoodShare but had to go to Georgia to take care of a sick relative. John will be returning to Wisconsin after alternative care has been arranged. John is temporarily absent and remains eligible for FoodShare. |
Someone absent solely for full-time service in the military is not considered temporarily absent but is part of the food unit. However, this individual would not be part of the assistance group. Income from this individual may be included in the FoodShare assistance group if it is available to the other food unit members.
If military income is direct deposited into an account jointly owned by the person in the military and a member of the FoodShare assistance group, it will be counted as unearned income, with the exception of combat pay. Military allotments paid to a spouse or dependent of the person in the military are budgeted as unearned income as long as the spouse or dependent is a member of the FoodShare assistance group. This includes cash sent directly from the person in the military to a FoodShare assistance group member.
See Section 4.3.4.3 Disregarded Unearned Income for the treatment of combat pay.
7 CFR 273.1(c)
An individual who is incarcerated for more than 30 days is ineligible for FoodShare unless they meet all the Huber criteria listed below.
Some inmates may be allowed to leave jail for various reasons under the Huber Law, also known as the Huber Program. Huber Law prisoners who are released from jail to attend to the needs of their families can become or remain eligible for FoodShare if both the following are true:
Huber Law prisoners who are released for a purpose other than attending to the needs of their families are not eligible for FoodShare.
An individual participating in a bracelet monitoring program is exempt from meeting the Huber Law criteria and is eligible for FoodShare.
The temporary absence policy (see Section 3.2.1.2 Temporary Absence) does not apply for Huber and those monitored under the bracelet program.
| Note | Under simplified reporting rules, a change in household composition is not required to be reported until SMRF or renewal. |
| Example 6 | A mother with three school age children has been sentenced to serve 90 days in a Huber facility. She is released at 8 a.m. to her place of employment and must report directly back to the Huber facility by 4:30 p.m. This mother is absent from the household and is not eligible for FoodShare benefits. |
| Example 7 | A father applies for FoodShare for himself and his two school age children. He is sentenced to serve 90 days in a Huber facility. Under the terms of his sentence, he is released each morning at 6 a.m. to report to his job; at 3 p.m. he is to leave his job and report to his home to care for his children, including fixing and eating dinner with them. He must report back to the Huber facility by 8 p.m. This father is temporarily absent from the FoodShare household and is eligible for FoodShare benefits. |
| Example 8 | Waylen is on a bracelet monitoring program under the Huber program, living with his husband at home and working full time. Some of his wages are intercepted by the county jail to offset incarceration and monitoring costs. Treat this case as a FoodShare assistance group of two and budget the gross amount of his wages. |
7 CFR 271.2
A homeless individual is someone who lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence or an individual whose primary nighttime residence is:
A supervised shelter designed to provide temporary accommodations (for example, a welfare hotel, congregate shelter, or transitional housing),
A halfway house or similar institution that provides temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized,
A temporary accommodation for not more than 90 days in the residence of another individual, or
A place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (for example, a hallway, bus station, a lobby, or similar places).
| Note |
A homeless youth is someone, other than a foster child who is under 18 years of age, who is temporarily seeking accommodation in the residence of another individual other than their parent. A homeless youth under “parental control” must apply as part of the same food unit as the adult. A homeless youth under parental control is defined as someone who is financially or otherwise dependent on a member of the household, unless state law defines such a person as an adult. While some homeless youth may fall under the parental control of a non-parent household member, other homeless youth may not. Anyone who, under FoodShare policy, is considered an individual living alone, should be afforded the opportunity to apply as a one-person household. |
| Example 9 | Jack is a 16-year-old homeless youth who is working part-time and is not financially dependent on the adult with whom he is temporarily residing with. In this case, Jack can apply for FoodShare as a one-person household. |
Determine eligibility for a homeless shelter resident as if they are living independently (not residing in an institution or facility). Homeless shelters include transitional and temporary housing. An individual residing at a shelter for the homeless is homeless.
Transitional housing helps homeless people move to independent living in a reasonable amount of time. It includes housing designed to serve deinstitutionalized homeless individuals, homeless people with mental disabilities, and homeless families with children.
Temporary housing includes housing commonly known as a "rooming house."
The homeless person may use FoodShare benefits to purchase prepared meals from authorized shelters, some restaurants, and grocery stores.
A shelter authorized to accept FoodShare benefits may not also be the person's authorized representative.
7 CFR 273.1(b)(7)
An institution is any establishment that provides care and/or services above and beyond meals and lodging. Residents of an institution are ineligible for FoodShare. For information on institutions of higher education, see Section 3.15.1.3 Student Institutional Meal Plans.
A person is a resident of an institution if they receive a majority (over 50% of three meals daily) of their meals as part of the institution’s normal operations. A person is not considered a resident of an institution if they receive 50% or less of their meals.
| Example 10 | Oakleigh’s meal plan shows she gets dinner every day from the institution. She is responsible for her own breakfast and lunch. Oakleigh is not a resident of an institution because she does not receive over 50% of her daily meals from the institution. |
| Example 11 | Ismail’s meal plan shows he gets breakfast, lunch, and dinner from the institution he lives in. He is not responsible for obtaining any of his daily meals. Ismail is considered a resident of an institution because he receives over 50% of his daily meals from the institution. |
Residents living in a facility listed below are exempt from being considered a resident of an institution for FoodShare. They can be eligible even if the facility provides them with a majority of their meals.
7 CFR 273.11(f)
A Residential Care Apartment Complex (RCAC) is a facility with five or more adults living in independent apartments. The name and addresses of facilities are listed in DHS's Residential Care Apartment Complex Directory. This list identifies whether the facility is a RCAC.
To be eligible for FoodShare, residents must receive no more than 50% of their meals from the RCAC as part of its normal services. If the RCAC provides the resident with over 50% of their meals, the resident is considered a resident of an institution and is ineligible.
Some RCACs offer optional meal services. Residents that opt out of optional meal services are considered to be living in an independent apartment. These residents are eligible because they are not a resident of an institution.
Residents must report how many meals per day they receive from the RCAC. If the meal plan details are unclear or if the member’s statement is questionable, follow Section 1.2.7 Unclear Information. See Section 1.2.6.2 Verify Only If Questionable for a list of suggested documents to verify a meal plan.
| Example 12 | Maria lives in an RCAC. Her service agreement shows she has no meals included in her cost of care, but she does have the option to select from various meal plans. She has opted to prepare all of her meals herself and not purchase any meal plan from the RCAC. She is non-financially eligible for FoodShare. |
| Example 13 | John lives in the same RCAC as Maria. He opted to purchase one of the dinner meal plans from the RCAC. Because the meal plan is purchased separately from his cost of care and the plan provides less than 50% of his daily meals, he is non-financially eligible for FoodShare. |
| Example 14 | Francis lives in an RCAC that does not offer the option to buy meal plans separately from the cost of care. All her meals are included in the monthly cost of care. She is ineligible for FoodShare because she receives over 50% of her meals from the RCAC. |
7 CFR 273.11(f)
A group living arrangement is a public or private nonprofit facility with no more than 16 residents. It must be certified by the appropriate state or local agencies.
EBD residents of group living arrangements are not residents of institutions. They can receive over 50% of their meals from the facility and be eligible for FoodShare.
A non-EBD resident who receives over 50% of their meals from the group living arrangement is a resident of an institution. Residents of institutions are ineligible for FoodShare.
The resident may purchase meals directly from the group living arrangement when FNS authorizes the facility to accept and redeem FoodShare as a retailer (see Section 3.22.1 Designated Representatives).
Determine the resident's eligibility as a one-person food unit (see SECTION 3.3.1 FOOD UNIT/FOODSHARE ASSISTANCE GROUP/RELATIONSHIPS) when the facility applies as an authorized representative for the resident. If the resident applies without an authorized representative, determine the group size according to food unit rules.
Wis. Stat. § 50.01(1)
An Adult Family Home is a type of group living arrangement where three or four adults with a developmental disability live. There can be more than four adults if they are all siblings. A list of names and addresses of Adult Family Homes can be found in the DHS’s Adult Family Home Directory.
Adult Family Homes are a type of group living arrangement. EBD residents of Adult Family Homes can be eligible for FoodShare regardless of the number of meals they receive. EBD residents can receive over 50% of their meals from the home and be eligible for FoodShare.
| Example 13 | Elena has a developmental disability and lives in an Adult Family Home with two other residents and the care provider. Elena receives all her meals from the Adult Family Home. She is not considered a resident of an institution because she has a disability and lives in a group living arrangement with three residents. Elena is eligible for FoodShare even though she receives all her meals from the home. |
The care provider can include residents in their assistance group, or residents can be in their own assistance group, even if the care provider prepares the resident’s meals. The care provider’s assistance group must include their spouse and any children under the age of 22, if they live together.
| Example 14 | Hayden lives in an Adult Family Home with three other residents and the care provider, Reggie. Hayden wants to apply for FoodShare. Reggie purchases and prepares each meal for all the residents and himself. Reggie is already receiving FoodShare. Reggie can decide if he wants to add Hayden to his assistance group or help Hayden apply on her own. |
7 CFR 271.2
7 CFR 273.11(e) and (f)(6)
DHS 75.03 General requirements
Residential drug and alcohol treatment centers can be: private facilities, nonprofits, community-based residential facilities (CBRF), hospitals, or publicly operated community mental health facilities.
Drug and alcohol treatment center residents can only be eligible for FoodShare if the facility meets one of the following criteria:
If the facility meets one of the criteria, its residents are not considered residents of institutions. They can be eligible for FoodShare regardless of how many meals they receive from the facility.
If the facility meets none of the criteria, its residents are not eligible for FoodShare.
| Example 15 | Lanie enters a non-profit alcohol treatment center and asks to apply for FoodShare. The facility is eligible to receive Title XIX. Lanie can be eligible for FoodShare while residing in the facility even if she receives the majority of her meals from the facility. She is not a resident of an institution because she is residing in a qualifying drug and alcohol treatment center. |
| Example 16 | Sam enters a private treatment facility that is not tax-exempt, eligible to receive Title XIX, or authorized as a FNS retailer. Sam is not eligible for FoodShare while he lives in this facility, regardless of how many meals he receives. |
The Department of Health Services (DHS) certifies these facilities according to DHS 75.03 General requirements. State certification should not be confused with state licensing of drug and alcohol treatment facilities. Such licensing is not required for FoodShare eligibility.
No residential drug and alcohol treatment center can require a resident to apply for FoodShare. Residents must choose whether to apply and if they want to, it is done voluntarily with an authorized representative.
New applicants must designate the facility or an employee of the facility as their authorized representative with the Appoint, Change, or Remove an Authorized Representative form (F-10126B, Organization). Then, the authorized representative must apply on the residents behalf (see Section 3.22.1 Designated Representatives).
The primary person on an existing case must appoint the facility or employee as an authorized representative. All other household members must re-apply on their own to continue receiving benefits.
Even with an authorized representative, the resident is the QUEST cardholder and the primary person on the case. The authorized representative cannot be the authorized buyer, but they can use resident's card with their permission. Authorized representatives cannot spend more than the resident's monthly allotment.
| Example 17 | Tommy is residing in a treatment facility. An employee of the facility is Tommy’s authorized representative. Tommy is still the QUEST cardholder. With Tommy’s permission, the authorized representative uses Tommy’s QUEST card to purchase meals or groceries for him. |
If an existing FoodShare member moves into a drug or alcohol treatment facility and does not use benefits to purchase food, the member is considered temporarily absent from the home. Temporarily absent members do not need an authorized representative.
Faith-based treatment facilities can, but do not always, meet the criteria to be eligible to receive FoodShare. If the facility doesn’t meet at least one of the criteria listed above, its residents cannot be eligible. Faith-based treatment and rehabilitation facilities are not required (by law or FNS regulation) to allow residents to opt-out of religious programming or activities to participate in the FoodShare program.
| Example 18 | Marcus resides in a non-profit faith-based treatment facility that is eligible to receive Title XIX and has required religious services. Because the facility is a non-profit that is eligible to receive Title XIX funding, Marcus can be eligible for FoodShare. The facility is not required to allow Marcus to opt-out of the religious services for him to participate in FoodShare. |
Outpatient treatment centers offering communal meals must meet both of the following criteria to be eligible to accept FoodShare benefits:
7 CFR 273.11(g)
For a resident of a shelter for domestic violence to be eligible for FoodShare, the shelter must meet certain criteria. The shelter for victims of domestic violence must:
Document how the shelter meets the criteria in case comments.
Shelters for victims of domestic violence may act as the authorized representative for the residents. Residents of shelters for victims of domestic violence, or shelter residents, are not required to appoint the shelter as their authorized representative. They may apply on their own and use their benefits in or out of the shelter.
A shelter resident may have recently left a household containing the person who abused them before entering the shelter. The members of the abuser's household may have received benefits in Wisconsin or in another state. If their former household was receiving benefits, the adult and children who fled the abuser's household may be eligible to receive FoodShare in their own FoodShare case. The shelter residents must live in the shelter, and be otherwise eligible for FoodShare to open as their own FoodShare case. The shelter resident, including any children, must be in a separate food unit from the other shelter residents.
Shelter residents should have their financial eligibility determined solely on the basis of their own income and expenses, without regard for their former household. The shelter resident's expenses must include shelter room payments, if applicable. Review the former FoodShare assistance group's eligibility and allotment. Re-test the former group and include the change in FoodShare assistance group composition.
Shelter residents should be screened for priority service receive expedited benefits, if eligible (see SECTION 2.1.4 Priority Service and Expedited Issuance).
Exempt residents of any federally subsidized housing for the elderly and disabled from the "residents of institutions" policy.
HUD funds some housing units primarily for the aged and disabled. This housing is called Section 202, Section 221(d)(3), and Section 236 housing. These housing units provide meals if the resident cannot get them without help.
Residents of 202/236 housing may still be eligible for FoodShare benefits. If you are unsure if a residence is an institution or 202/236 housing, contact the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority at 608-266-7884 to verify.
7 CFR 273.11(f)(5)
7 CFR 273.11(f)(6)
No residential facility can require a resident to apply for FoodShare. Residents must choose whether to apply.
All residents must have access to their notices, case information, and be able to file a fair hearing. Any children living with their parent(s) at the facility must be included in their parent’s assistance group (see Section 3.3.1.3 Relationship Rules).
The resident may appoint the facility as their authorized representative. The authorized representative cannot be the authorized buyer. However, the authorized representative, or another employee of the facility, can use resident’s QUEST card with permission. The facility can never spend more than the resident’s monthly allotment.
Resident Discharge
When a resident leaves a facility, it can no longer act as the member’s authorized representative as an organization (F-10126B). They must help the resident remove the facility as an authorized representative from the case.
The facility must notify the agency of the FoodShare member’s discharge and give the member:
This page last updated in Release Number: 26-01
Release Date: 04/15/2026
Effective Date: 04/15/2026
Notice: The content within this manual is the sole responsibility of the State of Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS). This site will link to sites outside of DHS where appropriate. DHS is in no way responsible for the content of sites outside of DHS.
Publication Number: P-16001