| Sept. 28 Update: |
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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program |
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Both Louisiana and
Texas requested to employ telephone-based
application and certification processes to
respond to D-SNAP and SNAP applications filed by
Hurricane Gustav and Ike victims. FNS denied
the requests as submitted, as the requests would
have allowed applicants to complete the
application process without signing their
application or being interviewed in person.
However, FNS approved each State to operate a
telephone-based application filing process, as
long as applicants appear in person at an
application site to receive a face-to-face
interview, provide required verification, sign
their application, and receive their benefit
card.
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FNS approved Texas requests to: |
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Issue expedited SNAP benefits by
allowing anyone living in or evacuated from
disaster counties (listed below) to receive expedited
service in order to speed food assistance to
those not already certified for benefits,
but newly eligible due to Hurricane Ike. |
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Angelina |
Hardin |
Montgomery |
Trinity |
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Austin |
Harris |
Nacogdoches |
Tyler |
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Brazoria |
Houston |
Newton |
Walker |
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Chambers |
Jasper |
Orange |
Waller |
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Cherokee |
Jefferson |
Polk |
Washington |
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Fort Bend |
Liberty |
Sabine |
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Galveston |
Madison |
San Augustine |
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Grimes |
Matagorda |
San Jacinto |
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Allow purchase of hot foods with SNAP benefits at authorized grocery
retailers statewide |
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Issue mass replacement of SNAP
benefits at 70 percent of September
allotment to existing program recipients in
31 counties affected by power outages. |
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Extend
reporting of food losses purchased with SNAP benefits from 10 to 20 days. |
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Ease or delay reporting requirements to
address increased program demand. |
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Ignore non-liquid assets when determining
eligibility. This waiver allows those with
perhaps substantial non-liquid assets, those
resources that cannot be quickly converted
to cash, to be ignored, since households do
not have those resources available to buy
food. |
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To amend its Modified SNAP and
use a Standard Disaster Expense Deduction in
addition to the ordinary income exclusions
and deductions that they have been using in
order to provide sufficient food assistance
to newly applying households in the 29
counties affected by Hurricane Ike.
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FNS approved Louisiana requests to: |
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o |
On Oct. 23, FNS amended approved Louisiana’s
request to issue a second full month of
D-SNAP benefits and supplements to ongoing
households in the seven parishes
impacted by both Hurricane Gustav and
Hurricane Ike and that have already
been approved for D-SNAP benefits under the
Gustav D-SNAP. The seven parishes are
Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, St.
Mary, Terrebonne, and Vermilion. |
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o |
Operate the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program for
14 parishes that received Presidential
disaster declarations with individual
assistance as a result of Hurricane Ike. |
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Acadia |
Iberia |
Plaquemines |
Vermilion |
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Beauregard |
Jefferson |
Sabine |
Vernon |
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Calcasieu |
Jefferson Davis |
St. Mary |
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Cameron |
Lafourche |
Terrebonne |
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o |
On Sept. 23, FNS granted mass replacement of
September SNAP benefits at 50 percent
of the September allotment, or $10,
whichever is greater to regular SNAP recipients in 14 Louisiana parishes
affected by power outages as a result of
Hurricane Ike. |
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On Sept. 23, FNS approved Louisiana’s
request for authority to allow non-merit
workers to perform certification functions
for their Disaster Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program
operation following Hurricane Ike,
specifically allowing volunteers and other
non-State agency employees to interview
households and determine their eligibility
for the program in order to speed food aid
to disaster victims. |
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FNS approved Indiana's requests to: |
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Operate the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program in 3
counties that received Presidential disaster
declarations with individual assistance due
to recent flooding. |
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-- To obtain information on how and where to apply for
SNAP benefits, call:
1-877-541-7905 (for Texas residents who
evacuated to another state)
2-1-1
(for residents who evacuated to another area of the
state)
1-888-LAHELPU (for Louisiana
residents) |
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-- Hurricane
Response: 2008 Evacuee Policy (revised) |
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Commodities |
-- Released 6 truckloads of USDA commodities on Sept. 18
from Federal inventory
that are suitable for household distribution to be delivered
to food banks in
Houston and Beaumont to serve disaster affected households
for a period of
7 days. |
-- Purchased over $500,000 worth of infant formula on
Sept. 18 for delivery to food
banks in Houston and Beaumont to meet the needs of 10,000
infants for the next
7 days. |
-- Approximately 60,000 pounds of USDA commodity food
products valued at over
$68,000 were delivered on Sept. 15 to the San Antonio Food
Bank and Second
Harvest Affiliate -- End Hunger Food Bank in Houston. |
-- 25,000 pounds of commodities valued at $25,000 were
delivered on Sept. 13,
to the East Texas Food Bank. Specific commodities shipped
include fruits,
vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, rice, cheese and meats that
will be used for
meals served at congregate feeding sites. |
-- USDA has approximately 282 truckloads of commodities
in transit for September
delivery to Texas warehouses. |
-- FNS secured delivery of over 30,000 jars of baby food
for use at five feeding sites
in Texas to serve victims of Hurricane Ike. |
-- FNS purchased
approximately $200,000 in infant formula for delivery to feeding
sites in Texas to serve Hurricane Ike evacuees. |
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School Meals |
--
FNS approved a Texas request for several administrative
accommodations
(waivers) in National School Lunch and School Breakfast
program accountability
procedures, for schools affected by Hurricane Ike. Schools
that can not maintain
normal accountability procedures can offer all free meals for
two weeks and at the
discretion of the State Director that authority may
be extended for an additional
two weeks have greater flexibility in meal pattern
compliance in recognition of the
near term problems with a healthy food supply. |
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Summer Food Service Program |
-- In a
limited number of schools located in Houston, FNS
has made accommodations
that would allow the Summer
Food Service Program to be operated in these
schools through the end of September. |
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Child and Adult Care Food Program |
-- Provided Texas flexibility in the operations of the
Child and Adult Care Food
Program (CACFP), including the ability to approve emergency
shelters as
providers without normal application requirements. CACFP
providers may also
extend free meal eligibility to children who are temporarily
homeless, and to
children receiving food stamps, and are allowed meal pattern
flexibility due to
limited availability of foods. |
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