Food benefits available to Ruidoso wildfire victims

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — The New Mexico Health Care Authority (HCA) has announced they are accepting applications for Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Program (D-SNAP) benefits for residents affected by the Salt and South Fork Fires.

New Mexico has received federal approval to implement D-SNAP for Lincoln and Otero counties, including the Mescalero Apache Reservation, at the request of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, HCA said in a news release.

The following residents in Lincoln County area codes, may be eligible for the food benefits:

• 88355
• 88345
• 88346
• 88312

“We are grateful for our federal partners’ assistance as New Mexicans face the impact of these
devastating wildfires and flooding. Their support, along with the efforts of our dedicated staff,
will help more families as we work together to rebuild our communities,” said Kari Armijo,
cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Health Care Authority. “We want to assure New Mexicans
that we are here to support them during this challenging time.”

Residents that have been impacted can apply for D-SNAP at the following locations:

• Horton Complex, 237 Service Rd., Ruidoso
• Roswell ISD Field Office, 1201 S. Sunset Ave., Roswell
• Alamogordo ISD Field Office, 2000 Juniper Dr., Alamogordo

Residents unable to drive to the locations may call 1-800-283-4465 to apply through phone, the HCA said.

Applications for the victims will be open from July 10 through July 12 and from July 14 through July 17, according to the HCA. Applications will be accepted from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

According to the HCA, on Sunday, July 14, D-SNAP sites will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and call centers will be closed.

To provide one-on-one guidance, the HCA says they will assist residents alphabetically by last name for the first three days of the application period. The remaining four days will be open to all applicants regardless of last name.

To be eligible for the disaster benefits, residents may qualify through one, or more of the following ways:

• Home or belongings were damaged or destroyed due to disaster.
• Experienced a loss or reduction in income due to disaster.
• Have unreimbursed disaster-related expenses.

The only requirement to apply for D-SNAP is to verify your identity and have information about your household’s income and any expense related to the disaster, according to the HCA.

The HCA says eligible households will receive one month of D-SNAP benefits to purchase groceries at SNAP-authorized stores or selected online retailers. The benefits will be deposited to an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card.

If your household is already enrolled in the SNAP program, have been impacted by the disasters and are not receiving the maximum benefit amount, the household will automatically receive a supplement to increase the benefits to monthly SNAP allotment for one month, HCA says.

The following table, provided by the HCA, shows the benefit levels according to household sizes:

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