Florida released SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits early as a measure to assist residents affected by Hurricane Idalia.
DCF’s Application for D-SNAP:
DCF (Department of Children and Families) submitted an application to provide Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP) to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service for approval. D-SNAP offers food assistance to victims in affected counties. More details will be provided soon.
Approved Waivers by DCF:
DCF’s waiver requests to assist individuals receiving SNAP benefits were approved. These waivers include:
- Automatic SNAP Replacement Benefits: Households in certain counties that did not receive the early release of SNAP benefits will receive an automatic replacement of SNAP benefits. The counties include Baker, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, and Wakulla. Eligible recipients will have the benefits automatically added to their EBT card.
- Hot Food Purchases with EBT: SNAP recipients will have the ability to use their EBT card to purchase hot food. Typically, food assistance benefits can only be used to buy unprepared foods.
Financial Details of the Early Release:
- DCF released more than $8 million in SNAP mass replacement food benefits to over 38,000 households.
- DCF released more than $104 million in SNAP benefits early in preparation/response to Hurricane Idalia for over 327,000 households that would normally receive their September SNAP benefit between the 1st and 14th of the month. This applies to SNAP households located in one of the 49 designated counties in Governor DeSantis’ Executive Order.
This early release was part of the state’s response to provide relief and assistance to those affected by Hurricane Idalia.