You may be able to get 3SquaresVT benefits if you are:

• working
• unemployed
• homeless or living with others
• an immigrant
• 60 or older or with a disability
• an adult with or without children
• military families
• a student
• an AmeriCorps member
• a household that received the Earned Income Tax Credit

Please visit this Do I Qualify web page to find out more.

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.

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, 2023 - September 30, 2024

The gross income test does not apply to either of the following:

• a household in which all members receive SSI and Reach Up
• a household that has received the Vermont Earned Income Tax Credit in the last 12 months.

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.

For most Vermonters there are no “resource” rules for eligibility for 3SquaresVT. Resources are money or property such as cars, trucks, boats, real estate, stocks, inheritances, money in the bank and the cash value of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). When figuring out if someone qualifies, 3SquaresVT does not include the amount of money in retirement accounts, including 401Ks, IRAs and Educational Savings Accounts.

Disabled or elderly households above 185% of the Federal Poverty Level have a $4,250 resource limit.

For more information, see the 3SquaresVT Program Manual.

As of July 1, 2023, some people will need to meet certain requirements related to work. There are two types of work requirements for 3SquaresVT: the “General Work Requirement” and the “Time-Limited Benefit Work Requirement.”

You may not have to comply with one or both of these requirements if you meet an “exemption” listed below and can give proof that you are “exempt.” Contact Economic Services at 1-800-479-6151 if you think you are exempt or have a good reason for not meeting a work requirement.

General Work Requirement

Unless you are exempt, you must:

1. not quit a current job or reduce hours to below 30 hours/week without good cause
2. give ESD information to determine your availability to work, and
3. accept any suitable job that you are offered.

You can be exempt from the General Work Requirement if you are:

• younger than 16
• 16 or 17 and living with a parent or person with parental control
• age 60 or older
• physically or mentally unable to work
• a student enrolled at least half-time in a school, training program, or Institution of Higher Education
• employed or self-employed and working at least 30 hours per week or receiving gross weekly earnings at least equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours per week
• caring for a child under age 6
• responsible for the care of another household member who needs help caring for themselves
• receiving, applying for, or appealing Unemployment Compensation Benefits
• receiving Reach Up, Reach First, Post-Secondary Education, or Reach Ahead benefits, or
• a regular participant in a drug or alcohol addiction program.

If you are not exempt, and you are not following the General Work Requirements, then you can lose 3SquaresVT benefits for a period of time.

Time-Limited Benefits Work Requirement

If you are not exempt, then you must:

1. work or do an employment training activity for 20 hours/week (80 hours/month), or
2. participate in Workfare (volunteering) with an hourly requirement that depends on your household benefit.

You can be exempt from the Time-Limited Benefits Work Requirement if you:

• are younger than 18 years of age
• are aged 18-24 and aged out of foster care at 18 or older
• are age 53 or older
• are pregnant
• have minor children in the 3SquaresVT household
• are currently unable to participate in training or work due to a temporary mental or physical limitation
• live in a town where there is a geographic waiver of the requirement (contact ESD)
• are physically or mentally unable to work
• are a student enrolled at least half-time in a school, training program, or Institution of Higher Education
• are employed or self-employed and working at least 30 hours per week or receiving gross weekly earnings at least equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours per week
• are caring for a child under age 6
• are responsible for the care of another household member who needs help caring for themselves
• are receiving, applying for, or appealing Unemployment Compensation Benefits
• are receiving Reach Up, Reach First, Post-Secondary Education, or Reach Ahead benefits
• are a regular participant in a drug or alcohol addiction program
• are experiencing homelessness, or
• are a veteran.

If you are not exempt, and you are not meeting the Time-Limited Benefits Work Requirement, then you are only eligible for three months of 3SquaresVT benefits in a 3-year period (through October 2025). Contact Economic Services at 1-800-479-6151 with any questions. Call them if you think you are exempt or have a good reason for not meeting a work requirement.

If you think you are exempt but Economic Services does not agree, find a service provider who can help you explore your options. Or contact us for help. Fill out our form and we will call you back. Your information will be sent to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont. You can also call us at 1-800-889-2047.

In most cases you can get your 3SquaresVT benefit within a month from the date you apply. If you have no current 3SquareVT benefits and no other money, you may be eligible for Emergency 3SquaresVT.

You may be eligible for Emergency 3SquaresVT if one of these statements is true for you:

• Your monthly income is less than $150 and you have less than $100 at the time you apply.
• Your monthly rent/mortgage and utilities are more than your monthly income.
• You are a migrant or seasonal farm worker household and have little or no income at the time you apply.

A 3SquaresVT household is the people who live, purchase and prepare food together. There may be only one person in a 3SquaresVT household. Or, there may be more than one 3SquaresVT household in the same home, if people live together but do not buy food and make meals together.

The following people are always considered to be part of the same household if they live together, even if they do not purchase and prepare food together:

• spouses
• civil union partners
• couples who live together and share resources and income
• parents and their children under age 21
• adults and any child under age 18 the adult takes care of, even if they aren't their biological children

As your income goes up, your 3SquaresVT benefit goes down. See the Vermont Food Help website to learn about the maximum amount a household can get.

Fuel Assistance

You should apply for both Fuel Assistance (seasonal fuel benefits) and 3SquaresVT. If you get fuel assistance, it may increase the amount of 3SquaresVT benefits you get.

If you live in subsidized housing, you should still apply for fuel assistance. Some people who live in public housing or have a Section 8 voucher may get a $5 fuel benefit. That benefit may increase your 3SquaresVT benefit amount.

Child Care

You can deduct the child care expenses you pay when you apply for 3SquaresVT.

Seniors

If you are a senior, 3SquaresVT can help you stay healthy and independent.

If you already get 3SquaresVT, you may qualify for more help if your medical expenses are at least $35. Use this helpful monthly medical expense worksheet, prepared by Legal Services Vermont, to add up your monthly expenses.

Go to the Vermont Food Help web page to learn how to apply and where to get help applying.

If you get 3SquaresVT, you may also be eligible for other benefits, including:

• telephone bill help (Lifeline and Link Up)
• weatherization help (weatherization is work that is done to improve your home so it takes less fuel or electricity to keep your home comfortable in cold weather)

Lost benefits because of an emergency or disaster

If you get 3SquaresVT benefits and lose food because of flooding, fire or loss of electricity, you may be eligible for replacement benefits. You must request replacement benefits within 10 days of the event that caused you to lose food.

Go to the 3SquaresVT website to find out if you can get replacement benefits and what you need to do. If you have questions, call the Benefits Service Center at 1-800-479-6151 or call your local district office.

Stolen benefits

If your 3SquaresVT benefits are stolen electronically between March 14, 2023, and September 30, 2024, you may be able to get some of them replaced. Contact the Benefits Service Center at 1-800-479-6151 or call your local district office as soon as possible.

You have a right to a timely decision from the Department for Children and Families (DCF). If you give the information that you are asked to provide, DCF has to give you an answer within 30 days. You may qualify for a faster decision. Find out more about your right to a timely decision.

Even if you get 3SquaresVT, you can get WIC. WIC foods supplement your family’s diet. Most WIC foods are items families buy every month. WIC helps make the rest of your food budget more flexible.

Many families who make too much or don’t qualify for 3SquaresVT are eligible for WIC. You are also financially eligible if you or your child currently receives Medicaid, Dr. Dynasaur, 3SquaresVT or Reach-Up. Visit our WIC in Vermont page to learn more.