(TotalConservative.com) – After major storms impacted Gulf Coast states earlier this month, it’s now confirmed that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will help impacted families in Louisiana to replace food lost during the latest disaster.
The state’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) confirmed that SNAP recipients whose food supplies were destroyed or perished during the wave of recent storms on Wednesday, April 10, can file a request for replacement benefits.
Thirty miles from New Orleans, Slidell suffered severe damage to multiple structures and infrastructure. Louisiana was hit particularly hard by the storms that ripped through the Deep South last week, including at least one tornado that tore up the town of Lake Charles. Another tornado also hit Port Arthur, Texas. Residents in Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama were also hit by high-speed winds and torrential rains along the Gulf shores, resulting in widespread power outages for hundreds of thousands.
At least 190,000 residents in Louisiana lost power, and those claiming replacement benefits are eligible if their power went out for an entire day or longer. The DCFS typically gathers information about which areas were hit with power outages during a natural disaster but if they cannot verify a specific household’s outage from this data then the benefit recipient may be asked to verify the loss of power themselves.
SNAP, more widely known as “food stamps,” provides funds for monthly rations for households with little to no income across the US. Claimants in Louisiana who are eligible can now apply for extra benefits to replace the amount equal to any goods lost in the storm that was previously purchased using SNAP benefits by an electronic transfer card.
Claimants can either apply electronically by email or go directly to a DCFS office and can specify if they lost goods from a power outage, fire, or flooding. If the claim doesn’t fall under these categories, there’s a section on the application to explain why additional benefits are required. Claimants have 10 days after any natural disaster to file.
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