Now that hurricane season has started, people in Florida are, as usual, some of the most affected by the strong storms and the damage they cause. The state was hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the space of 12 days. In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would be temporarily expanded.

The state was hit by Hurricane Helene at the end of September and Hurricane Milton at the beginning of October. To help with the recovery, the USDA sent Disaster Relief SNAP benefits (D-SNAP) to the 24 counties in the state that were hit the hardest. Approximately 407,733 households in Florida are included in this.

Most of the time, SNAP benefits are meant to help low-income or no-income families pay for groceries. Because they used to be given out on a card that had to be physically stamped every time it was used at the store, they are better known as food stamps. It does a lot more than this, though.

During a major natural disaster, D-SNAP is given to families that normally wouldn’t be eligible for the program but have been severely affected by the damage and need help right away to get by.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack put out a statement explaining how the USDA was helping people after the tragedy.

“USDA is committed to making sure that families, farmers, and communities that were affected by the recent hurricanes get the help they need, such as assistance with food costs while people deal with major changes in their lives.”

And the USDA and the rest of the Biden-Harris Administration will do everything they can to help you respond, recover, and rebuild, no matter how long it takes.

Who is entitled to D-SNAP benefits?

The first thing that needs to be said is that D-SNAP is only for people who do not already get regular SNAP benefits. People who get benefits from the regular program can ask for extra benefits if they can show proof that the disaster affected them.

However, they would have to make this claim through the regular channels, not the disaster relief channels.

What about the families in the area who have been affected? The program will be open to families who meet the income requirements. Four people in a family must make less than $3,529 a month in order to get D-SNAP. The aid will be sent to the counties that need it at different times:

• For Columbia, Dixie, Franklin, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla counties, applications will be accepted by phone, from October 28 through October 31, and onsite applications will be taken for a three-day period in each county starting November 1 through December 9.
• For Charlotte, Hernando, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties, applications will be accepted by phone on November 4 and November 6 through November 8, and onsite applications will be taken for a three-day period in each county starting November 9 through December 3.
• For Citrus, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, and Volusia counties, applications will be accepted by phone from November 12 through November 15, and onsite applications will be taken for a three-day period in each county starting November 16 through December 15.

Florida isn’t the only state that gets money from D-SNAP. A month of D-SNAP help is also available to about 982,930 households in Georgia, 152,572 households in North Carolina, and 54,692 households in Tennessee.

Although these benefits are extra, they can be used in the same way as regular SNAP benefits. This means that people who get them still need to follow the same rules. You can’t use these benefits to buy hot food, alcohol, tobacco, or things for the house.

They are meant to help you buy food at stores and markets that are affiliated with them. In an emergency, these rules can be temporarily changed, mostly the “no hot meals” rule. However, as of now, no such exception has been made public.

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