SNAP and food help for older adults in Vermont

What is different in Vermont

Vermont adds three things that make 3SquaresVT easier for older people:

• A short application with long benefits. 3SquaresVT in a SNAP! uses a simple form, 202-3SNP. If you are approved, benefits last three years with no more paperwork.
• Cash instead of a card. If everyone in your household is 65 or older or gets SSI, your benefits are deposited as cash into your bank account. Other households get a Vermont EBT card.
• Crop Cash. Everyone on 3SquaresVT automatically qualifies for Crop Cash and Crop Cash Plus at farmers markets, run through NOFA-VT.

Who qualifies

Your home and certain retirement accounts do not count as resources.

Who can use 3SquaresVT in a SNAP!

All three must be true for everyone applying:

1. You are 65 or older, or you get disability benefits.
2. No one has income from a job or self-employment.
3. You buy and prepare food together.

If anyone in your household does not meet all three, use the regular application (form 202) instead. You can still get 3SquaresVT; the paperwork is just longer.

What counts as income, and what can be taken off

Vermont first checks your gross income. After that, some costs can be subtracted, which can raise your benefit.

The medical deduction for people 60 and over

If someone in your household is 60 or older or disabled and pays medical costs out of pocket, those costs can be deducted. This can increase your benefit.

• If your proven costs are more than $35 a month, you can get a standard medical deduction. If your costs are high, you can instead claim all proven costs above the first $35.
• Costs you can count: health insurance premiums (including Medicare and VPharm premiums), prescription copays, rides to medical care, medical bills and deductibles, a home health aide, service animal costs, and over-the-counter items or equipment a health professional recommends.
• Use form 120 to report them. Include proof, such as a pharmacy printout for the past 12 months and premium receipts. If you drive yourself to appointments, list the addresses and note that you drove. For over-the-counter items and equipment, a health professional must sign the form or write a note.

If you pay a Medicare premium yourself, it counts.

How to apply

With the short form (3SquaresVT in a SNAP!)

1. Get form 202-3SNP. Print it from the DCF 3SquaresVT in a SNAP! page or call 1-800-479-6151 to get one by mail.
2. Fill it out and sign it.
3. Send it. Use the DCF document uploader, mail it to the address on the form, or drop it off at a DCF district office.
4. Add form 120 if you have medical costs.

With the regular application

• Online: myBenefits on the DCF website.
• Paper: Form 202. Print it or call 1-800-479-6151. Submit it by uploader, mail or at a district office.
• Phone: Benefits Service Center, 1-800-479-6151. Relay calls are accepted.

If you are 60 or older, the Senior HelpLine at 1-800-642-5119 can help you fill out the forms.

After you apply

• On the short form, your benefits last three years with no extra paperwork.
• On the regular form, you will be asked to renew. Watch your mail.
• Report changes such as a new job, a move, or someone joining your household. Call 1-800-479-6151.
• If you disagree with a decision, you can ask for a fair hearing before the Human Services Board. Under the Board's rules, you can ask for a hearing about your benefit amount at any time during your certification period. Ask for it quickly, and follow the deadline on your notice. You can tell a DCF worker you want to appeal, and they must help you file.

Other food help for older Vermonters

• Community and home-delivered meals. Call your Area Agency on Aging through the Senior HelpLine at 1-800-642-5119.
• Farmers markets. Use Crop Cash with your 3SquaresVT benefits.

Things people miss

• Applying with savings. If you are over the income limit but someone is 60 or older, savings up to $4,750 are allowed. Your home does not count.
• Skipping the medical deduction. Medicare premiums and prescription copays can raise your benefit.
• Not using the short form. If you qualify for 3SquaresVT in a SNAP!, you avoid paperwork for three years.
• Two different age rules. The main DCF page says the easier way is for people 60 and older, but the short form page says everyone must be 65 or older or get disability benefits. If you are 60 to 64, ask the Benefits Service Center which form to use.

Free help

• Benefits Service Center: 1-800-479-6151.
• Senior HelpLine (Area Agencies on Aging): 1-800-642-5119. They also run SHIP, the free Medicare counseling program.

See all benefits in Vermont for help with fuel, health and housing costs. If everyone in your home gets SSI or is 65 or older, your 3SquaresVT benefits can go straight to your bank.

Phone numbers: Free help lines for Vermont agencies

Check what you may qualify for