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WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that low-income Florida residents in 11 counties (Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Suwanee, and Taylor) recovering from Hurricane Idalia beginning Aug. 30, 2023, could be eligible for a helping hand from the USDA’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP).
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that approximately 233,000 households that may not normally be eligible under regular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rules may qualify for D-SNAP – if they meet certain criteria, including the disaster income limits and have qualifying disaster-related expenses.
“The D-SNAP waiver USDA approved for Florida will ensure that people participating in SNAP can get the food they need as they get back on their feet in the wake of Hurricane Idalia,” Vilsack said.
To be eligible for D-SNAP, a household must either live or work in an identified disaster area, have been affected by the disaster, and meet certain D-SNAP eligibility criteria. Eligible households will receive one month of benefits – equal to the maximum monthly amount for a SNAP household of their size – that they can use to purchase groceries at SNAP-authorized stores or from select retailers online to meet their temporary food needs as they settle back home following the disaster. Florida will operate its staggered D-SNAP application process from Sept. 22, 2023, through Oct.14, 2023. Florida will share additional information about D-SNAP application dates and locations through local media.
The timing of D-SNAP varies with the unique circumstances of each disaster, but always begins after commercial channels of food distribution have been restored and families are able to purchase and prepare food at home. Before operating a D-SNAP, a state must ensure that the proper public information, staffing, and resources are in place.
Although current SNAP households are not eligible for D-SNAP, USDA has also approved Florida to automatically issue supplemental SNAP benefits to current SNAP households in the 11 identified areas to bring their allotment up to the maximum amount for their household size if they don’t already receive that amount.
The D-SNAP announcement today is the latest in a battery of USDA actions taken to help Florida residents cope with Hurricane Idalia and its aftermath, some of which include:
Additionally, USDA granted Florida several flexibilities in the operation of the Child Nutrition Programs including:
For more information about this and other available aid, callers from Florida can dial 2-1-1 or visit Florida’s Division of Emergency Management. For more information about Florida SNAP, visit Florida’s Department of Children and Families.
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service works to end hunger and improve food and nutrition security through a suite of more than 16 nutrition assistance programs, such as the school breakfast and lunch programs, WIC and SNAP. Together, these programs serve 1 in 4 Americans over the course of a year, promoting consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable food essential to optimal health and well-being. FNS also provides science-based nutrition recommendations through the co-development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. FNS’s report, “Leveraging the White House Conference to Promote and Elevate Nutrition Security: The Role of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service,” highlights ways the agency will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy, released in conjunction with the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022. To learn more about FNS, visit www.fns.usda.gov and follow @USDANutrition.
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