Dear Student Legal Clinic,

I was told that I am no longer eligible for FoodShare because I am a college student and my youngest just turned 6. I was told I have to work 20 hours a week or become a work/study student. I am in the culinary program.

Signed,

Cindy

Dear Cindy,

This mistake seems to happen a lot to MATC students. There is a technical college exemption that allows students in a two year program that is expected to lead to employment, to qualify for FoodShare even though they do not work 20 hours per week or are not work/study students.

Here is the exemption which can be found in the Food- Share Handbook at 3.15.1, Student Eligibility.

13. Is enrolled in an educational program that is designed to be completed in 2 years or less and obtaining certification or a diploma from the program will lead to employment that is in demand.

If you meet this standard and you have been told that you were not eligible for FoodShare, you should call the Milwaukee Enrollment Center and explain the problem to them.  They should be able to make the correction.  Their telephone number is 1-888-947-6583.

If you are not able to get it corrected by telephone, then you should contact Legal Action of Wisconsin for assistance. You can get assistance by walking into their offices on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. at 230 W. Wells Street, Room 800 or call 414-278-7722 to make an appointment for Wednesday mornings.

For information and referrals on other civil legal issues, contact Mary O’Leary at 414-297-6630, [email protected], or stop in room M346.