272.5—Program informational activities.
(a) Definition.
“Program informational activities” are those activities that convey information about the Program, including household rights and responsibilities, through means such as publications, telephone hotlines, and face-to-face contacts.
(b) Minimum requirements.
State agencies shall comply with the following minimum information requirements for applicants and recipients.
(1) Nutrition information.
FNS must encourage State agencies to develop Nutrition Education Plans as specified at § 272.2(d)(2) to inform applicant and participant households about the importance of a nutritious diet and the relationship between diet and health.
(2)
State agencies shall encourage program participants to participate in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and, wherever practicable, allow EFNEP personnel to come into food stamp offices to distribute informational materials and speak with food stamp recipients.
(3)
Rights and responsibilities. State agencies shall inform participant and applicant households of their Program rights and responsibilities. This information may be provided through whatever means the State agencies deem appropriate.
(4)
All Program informational material shall be available in languages other than English as required in § 272.4(b) and shall include a statement that the Program is available to all without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, religious creed, national origin or political belief.
(c) Program informational activities for low-income households.
At their option State agencies may carry out and claim associated costs for Program informational activities designed to inform low-income households about the availablity, eligibility requirements, application procedures, and benefits of the Food Stamp Program. Program informational materials used in such activities shall be subject to § 272.4(b), which pertains to bilingual requirements. Before FNS considers costs for such activities eligible for reimbursement at the fifty percent rate under part 277, State agencies shall obtain FNS approval for the attachment to their Plans of Operation as specified in § 272.2(d)(1)(ix). In such attachments, State agencies shall describe the subject activities with respect to the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the target population, types of media used, geographic areas warranting attention, and outside organizations which would be involved. State agencies shall update this attachment to their Plans of Operation when significant changes occur and report projected costs for this Program activity in accordance with § 272.2 (c), (e), and (f).