Emergency food assistance is now available for residents who experienced extreme material losses or subsequent flooding due to Hurricane Irene.
Residents must apply by Sept. 20 for the onetime food benefit available through the disaster-related SupplementalNutritionalAssistance Program (D-SNAP). All counties in New Jersey have begun processing the applications and will continue to do so over the next two weeks. Each county has established temporary sites, in addition to its social service offices, for people to request the D-SNAP subsidy, according to a press release from the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS).
Individuals and families currently not receiving SNAP benefits and whose stormrelated expenses include damages beyond the loss of food due to power outages may be eligible.
Individuals and families in disaster-declared areas and already enrolled with SNAP will automatically receive a onetime supplemental benefit based upon a federal determination of areas that lost power for over four consecutive hours. They do not need to call or visit their county welfare agency.
Benefits are electronically applied to a card similar to a debit/credit card for the purchase of certain food items.
“We recognize the incredible losses so many people endured, especially from flooding,” said DHS Commissioner Jennifer Velez. “D-SNAP and supplemental benefits are an effective way to assist families in the short term so they can focus on other storm-recovery matters.”
The New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of Family Development, which administers SNAP through the counties, is coordinating these processes with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services.
For more information, visit the website at www.NJSNAP.org.
Residents can check www.nj211.org for disaster-related information, including how to acquire cleanup kits, schedule home inspections and exercise renters rights.