Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations: Resource Limits and Exclusions, and Extended Certification Periods

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is amending the regulations for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). The changes will improve program service, ensure consistency between FDPIR and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly the Food Stamp Program), and respond to concerns expressed by the National Association of Food Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations (NAFDPIR) that the current FDPIR resource limits are insufficient for the target populations and serve as a barrier to participation. The rule will increase the maximum level of allowable resources to the same level permitted under SNAP (including the establishment of a resource limit of $3,000 for FDPIR households with a disabled member in accordance with Section 4107 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-171), and annual adjustments for inflation in accordance with Section 4104 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-246), allow a resource exclusion for the first $1,500 of the equity value of one pre- paid funeral arrangement per household member, and allow households in which all members are elderly and/or disabled to be certified for up to 24 months.