WAC 388-412-0015 General information about your Basic Food allotments.

1. Your monthly Basic Food benefits are called an allotment. An allotment is the total dollar value of benefits your eligible assistance unit (AU) gets for a calendar month.
2. If your AU does not have countable income as described under WAC 388-450-0162, you get the maximum allotment for the number of eligible people in your AU under WAC 388-478-0060.
3. If your AU has countable income, we calculate your monthly allotment as described under WAC 388-450-0162.
4. If we determine you are eligible for Basic Food, your first month's benefits are from the date you applied for benefits through the end of the month of your application. If there was a delay in processing your application, we determine when your benefits start under WAC 388-406-0055. This is called proration and is based on a thirty-day month.
5. If you apply for benefits on or after the sixteenth of the month, and we determine you are eligible for Basic Food, we issue both your first and second months benefits in one allotment if you are eligible for both months.
6. If your prorated benefits for the first month are under ten dollars, you will not receive an allotment for the first month.
7. If your AU has one or two members, your monthly allotment will be at least sixteen dollars unless:
   1. It is the first month of your certification period;
   2. Your AU is eligible for only a partial month; and
   3. We reduced your first month's allotment below sixteen dollars based on the date you became eligible for Basic Food under WAC 388-406-0055.