Food News

Washington- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced assistance for low-income Oklahoma residents experiencing tornadoes and severe storms since April 19, 2023. The USDA’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) will offer help to Oklahoma residents residing in McClain and Pottawatomie counties.

There are around 900 households that are not eligible for SNAP and might also not qualify for the D-SNAP. They’ll only be eligible if they meet the disaster income limits and qualify for disaster-related expenses.

Agricultural Secretary Vilsack said, “D-SNAP approval is vital to helping Oklahomans recover from the impact of recent tornadoes and severe storms by ensuring food supplies”.

A household living in an identified disaster area and one who meets the D-SNAP eligibility criteria are eligible for the same. The households which will be deemed eligible for D-SNAP will receive one month of benefits which equals the monthly amount of a SNAP household. The households can make use of those benefits to purchase groceries at SNAP-authorized stores or from selected retailers to meet their nutritional needs post the disaster. All the additional information about D-SNAP application dates and locations will be shared by Oklahoma through local media.

According to Vilsack, the timing of Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) implementation varies based on the specific circumstances of each disaster. However, it always begins once commercial food distribution channels have been restored, allowing families to acquire and prepare food at home. Before initiating D-SNAP, a state must ensure that it has adequately arranged for public information, staffing, and resources to support the program.

No doubt that current SNAP households are not eligible for D-SNAP, but they can request the supplemental SNAP benefits to raise their allotment to the maximum amount for one month. The latest action USDA has taken is the announcement of D-SNAP to help Oklahoma residents cope with severe storms. The USDA has granted a waiver that eliminates the 10-day reporting requirement for replacing food bought with SNAP benefits that were lost due to power outages resulting from the tornadoes and storms on April 19, 2023, and April 20, 2023. The waiver request applies to five counties which include Cleveland, Lincoln, Oklahoma, McClain, and Pottawatomie.

If you want more information about this and other available aids, you can reach out to Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services.