Getting the Food You Need During A Natural Disaster

By MoreFood
natural

You can’t prevent natural disasters from occurring, but being prepared and knowing about resources can help you recover faster if a disaster strikes. One resource that can help you get you back on your feet after disaster is D-SNAP. Read below to learn more about this program.

 What is D-SNAP? 

  • D-SNAP stands for Disaster-Supplemental Food Assistance Program.
  • D-SNAP provides temporary food assistance for households affected by a natural disaster.
  • D-SNAP provides one month of benefits to eligible disaster survivors and can facilitate the issuance of supplemental SNAP benefits for ongoing households.
  • To be eligible, a household must live in the identified disaster area, have been affected by the disaster, and meet certain D-SNAP eligibility criteria.

Do I live in an area that is eligible to receive assistance? 

  • An affected area must have received a Presidential declaration of “Major Disaster” with Individual Assistance in order to request a D-SNAP.

 Am I eligible for assistance?

To qualify, you must:

  • Reside in the disaster area
  • Purchase or plan to purchase food during the benefit period
  • Experience an adverse effect due to the disaster
  • Disaster victims who are already SNAP recipients will receive a disaster allocation in addition to their regularly scheduled benefit.

What is considered an adverse effect?

Adverse effects fall into the following three categories:

  • Lost or Inaccessible Income.Lost or inaccessible income includes reduction or termination of income, or a delay in receipt of income during the benefit period due to the disaster.
  • Inaccessible Liquid Resources. Inaccessible liquid resources (e.g., banks are closed due to the disaster) during the benefit period.
  • Deductible Disaster-related Expenses.Out of pocket disaster-related expenses paid (not just incurred) by the household that are not expected to be reimbursed during the 30-day benefit period. This can include damage to or destruction of your home or self-employment business.

 I already receive SNAP benefit. What do I need to do to apply for D-SNAP?

  • It depends. Your state may decide to automatically include D-SNAP benefits on your EBT card. Or you may need to submit an affidavit of disaster loss. You will not need to complete a D-SNAP application or go through the interview process, since you have already completed that for SNAP.

How do I apply?

To learn about other resources that can help you prepare for a disaster visit North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Disaster Information Center at http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/disaster/

 

D-SNAP information retrieved from https://www.disasterassistance.gov/get-assistance/forms-of-assistance/5769

Updated September 19, 2017