Major change to SNAP benefits announced for good reason – Now it’s official

Hurricane season is here, and residents in Florida are, as usual, some of the most affected by the intense weather patterns and their destruction. After Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit the state within a 12 day period, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a temporary expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

After Hurricane Helene hit the state at the end of September and Hurricane Milton did the same at the beginning of October, the USDA started aiding with the relief aid by implementing Disaster Relief SNAP benefits (D-SNAP) to the 24 counties that were affected the most in the state. This encompasses approximately 407,733 households across Florida.

Usually, SNAP benefits are meant to provide food for the lowest or no income households in order to pay for groceries. They are better known as food stamps because of the previous system of distribution, which consisted of a card that was physically stamped every time it was used at the store. But the program does much more than just this. In times of a serious natural disaster, D-SNAP is issued to families that would not qualify for the program usually, but have been severely impacted by the destruction and is in dire need of immediate help to get by.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement explaining the relief efforts of the USDA after the tragedy “USDA is committed to making sure that families, farmers and communities impacted by recent hurricanes get the support they need, including help with grocery expenses as people grapple with significant disruption to their lives. The Biden-Harris Administration, including USDA, will do everything in our power to help you respond, recover and rebuild – no matter how long it takes.”

Who is entitled to D-SNAP benefits?

First and foremost it is important to point out that D-SNAP is only available for those who do not already claim regular SNAP benefits. Beneficiaries of the regular program can claim extra benefits if they have proof that they were affected by the disaster, but that claim would have to go through regular channels, not disaster relief.

As for the affected families in the area, the program will be available for those families that meet the income requirements. To receive D-SNAP, a family of four must have a household income of below $3,529 per month. The aid will be distributed to the affected counties in different dates:

• 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 is not the only state receiving D-SNAP benefits. Approximately 982,930 households in Georgia, 152,572 households in North Carolina, and 54,692 households in Tennessee are also eligible for a month of D-SNAP relief.

While these benefits are an extraordinary measure, their use is the same as regular SNAP benefits

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, which means that beneficiaries still have to follow the same rules. These benefits cannot be used for hot meals, alcohol, tobacco our household items. They are meant to help with the purchase of groceries in affiliated stores and markets. Temporary modifications to these rules, mainly the no hot meals rule, can be made in times of emergency, but as of this time no such exception has been announced.