The Economic Services Department (ESD) will not count all of your income when determining your eligibility for 3SquaresVT. Some income may not count at all. Some expenses will be deducted from your monthly income to calculate your 3SquaresVT benefits.
ESD uses last year’s Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guidelines until October 1 to decide who is eligible for 3SquaresVT. On October 1, ESD begins using the current year’s FPL guidelines.
Gross Income Test
A household’s total monthly income cannot be more than 185% of the federal poverty level. This is called the “gross income test.”
Valid for 3SquaresVT from October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2023
185% of the 2022 Federal Poverty Guidelines
| Household size |
Monthly gross income |
| 1 |
$2,096 |
| 2 |
$2,823 |
| 3 |
$3,552 |
| 4 |
$4,279 |
| 5 |
$5,006 |
| 6 |
$5,735 |
| 7 |
$6,462 |
| 8 |
$7,189 |
| 9 |
$7,918 |
| 10 |
$8,647 |
Each additional
member add |
$729 |
The gross income test does not apply to either of the following:
What income does not count?
The following income does not count:
- anything not in the form of money, like free food or clothing, public housing subsidies or school lunch
- most vendor payments (a vendor payment is money that someone who is not in your household pays directly to someone else for a service for you, like a friend who pays your rent to your landlord)
- money earned by a child under 18 who is in school at least part time
- money from charity that you don't get on a regular basis as long as it is less than $300 in three months
- most loans
- student aid received under the federal Higher Education Act, like Pell Grants and most work study
- reimbursement for expenses, like reimbursement from an agency for transportation, or from your employer for work clothes or gas
- most work or business expenses if you are self-employed
- lump sum payments you don’t get regularly like tax refunds, Earned Income Tax Credit and retroactive payments from SSI
For more details, visit the Vermont Food Help website.
