Hurricane Helene victims eligible for food assistance

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — More than a million households impacted by Hurricane Helene are eligible for relief to buy groceries.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its disaster food assistance program, known as D-SNAP, will temporarily help cover food costs for people recovering from the storm in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

“It is available to folks who might not normally be eligible for SNAP,” said Cindy Long, the deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services at USDA. “They’ve lost income, they’ve had damage to property, they’ve had to relocate with all of the associated expenses or in some cases, even just losing their food due to power outages or flooding.”

Long said the one-month benefit would allow a family of four to receive $975.

“It is designed to be very easy to access,” she said.

However, some hopeful D-SNAP recipients are running into misinformation on social media about how to get a benefits card.

“It’s very cruel,” said Kim Teasley, whose family member arrived at a location in Georgia that was said to have food but left empty handed. “In Savannah, we don’t do that. Everybody’s trying to help out one another. We’re trying to recover from these hurricanes, and people lost a lot of food out here.”

That’s why Long said people should visit a government website or call 211 instead of relying on social media.

“This applies to any information about disaster benefits and resources that might be available: go to a trusted source,” she said.

Current SNAP recipients are not eligible for D-SNAP, but Long said those from the impacted areas can receive more money to replace food lost in the storm.

“We’re using every tool we have,” she said.

North Carolina will open its D-SNAP applications Friday while Georgia and Tennessee start next week.

USDA estimates nearly 983,000 households in Georgia, 153,000 households in North Carolina and 55,000 households in Tennessee are eligible for the relief.

You can find more information about D-SNAP application dates and locations here .

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