Food Bank – Home Delivered Meals

HIV/STD Program

HIV/STD Program

HIV Medical and Support Service Categories

Food Bank – Home Delivered Meals

Service Standard

Food Bank – Home Delivered Meals Service Standard print version

Texas Department of State Health Services, HIV Care Services Group – HIV/STD Program

Subcategories Service Units
Food Bank/Home-Delivered Meals Per visit
Food Pantry/Voucher Visit Without Nutritional Supplements Per visit
Food Pantry/Voucher Visit With Nutritional Supplements Per bottle
Meals – Home-Delivered Per person per meal
Meals – Congregate Per person per meal

Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Description

Food Bank/Home-Delivered Meals refers to the provision of actual food items, hot meals, or a voucher program to purchase food. This category also includes the provision of the following essential non-food items:

  • Personal hygiene products;
  • Household cleaning supplies; and
  • Water filtration or purification systems in communities where issues of water safety exist.

Program Guidance

Unallowable costs include household appliances, pet foods, and other non-essential products. Agencies may fund over-the-counter supplemental nutrition drinks and shakes with or without a provider prescription in food bank settings. Agencies must use the Medical Nutrition Therapy service category to fund nutritional counseling services and nutritional supplements provided by a licensed dietitian.

Services

This category includes food banks, food voucher systems, and on-site or home-delivered meals:

  • Food bank: The provision of food and personal care items in a food bank setting.
  • Food voucher: The provision of vouchers or gift cards for food or essential non-food items. The agency must provide documentation of receipts showing vouchers were used for allowable items or documentation of an exception
  • On-site or home-delivered meals: The provision of prepared meals or food vouchers for prepared meals, in either a congregate dining setting or delivered to clients at their residence.

Universal Standards

Services providers for Food Bank/Home-Delivered Meals must follow HRSA and DSHS Universal Standards 1-63 and 158-167.

Service Standards and Measures

The following standards and measures are guides to improving healthcare outcomes for people living with HIV throughout the State of Texas within the Ryan White Part B and State Services Program.

Standard Measure

Client Assessment: Staff must assess clients for immediate or ongoing need for food assistance on initial entry into the Food Bank/Home-Delivered Meals services program.

1. Percentage of clients with documentation of assessment and need for food resource assistance on initial entry into the Food Bank/Home-Delivered Meal services program

Dietary Needs: The agency must provide choices of food items that meet individual dietary needs for healthy eating as recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The choice of food products offered should include consideration of the special nutritional health needs of clients, while incorporating generally accepted nutritional standards, and religious, cultural, and ethnic food preferences as appropriate and available within the region.

2. Percentage of clients with documentation of initial and annual assessment of special dietary needs during the measurement year as applicable to new or ongoing services.

Delivery of Services: The agency must maintain documentation of Food Bank/Home-Delivered Meals services provided to each client at each encounter. Documentation must include the following information at a minimum:

  • Client ID
  • Date of service(s): month, day, and year
  • Type of service(s): 
    • Food pantry (brief description items provided to/selected by client)
    • Hot meal – congregate (a brief description of the type of meal)
    • Hot meal – voucher (a brief description of the type of voucher)
    • Home-delivered meal (a brief description of the type of meal)
    • Grocery gift card (a brief description of the type and amount of gift card with confirmation of the client’s understanding of gift card limitations)
    • Essential non-food items (Brief description of item)

3. Percentage of clients with documentation of service(s) received per encounter during the measurement year: (Pilot Measure)

     a. Client ID
     b. Date of service
     c. Type of service

4. Percentage of clients with documented evidence of understanding of gift card limitations policy, as applicable. (Pilot Measure 2025-2026)

5. Percentage of clients with documentation of receipt of goods purchased with gift card or documentation of exception. (Pilot Measure 2025-2026)
 

References:

Division of Metropolitan HIV/AIDS Programs, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB). Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) National Monitoring Standards for RWHAP Part A Recipients. Health Resources and Services Administration, March 2025.

Division of State HIV/AIDS Programs, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB). Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) National Monitoring Standards for RWHAP Part B Recipients. Health Resources and Services Administration, March 2025.

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Nutrition.gov. Nutrition.gov | USDA.

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. Policy Notice 16-02: Eligible Individuals & Allowable Uses of Funds. Health Resources & Services Administration, October 2018.