Perhaps she could tell us how she would prefer that it be stated. There are some things that are wacky, but there are guidelines and ways to crunch numbers that have to be followed. Fourteen pages may be too long for an application. That could be an obstacle to participation. She should write her county, state, government, etc., and get that changed.
Some states have much shorter ones.
Many, many people I see all day long don't even want to fill out my short one. The writer of this article was clearly literate and capable of filling out a form, however. She also thoroughly read the papers about what she could and could not buy. Many of our clients never read the forms. Need-based means you must be under some kind of dollar limit.