USDA Announces Approval of D-SNAP for California Disaster Areas

Contact:
Western Regional Office Public Affairs
fns-wro-pao@usda.gov or (415) 705-1311

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2023 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that low-income California residents recovering from severe storms that began on Dec. 27, 2022, which caused flooding, landslides, and mudslides, could be eligible for a helping hand from the USDA’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP).

President Joseph R. Biden issued a major disaster declaration designating Merced, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz Counties as eligible for federal individual assistance on Jan. 17, 2023. Additional amendments were issued in January to designate Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, San Joaquin, Calaveras, and San Mateo Counties.

USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Western Regional Office’s Regional Administrator Jesus Mendoza, Jr., said that households that may not normally be eligible under regular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)/CalFresh rules may qualify for D-SNAP – if they meet certain criteria, including the disaster income limits and have qualifying disaster-related expenses. “To be eligible for D-SNAP, a household must either live or work in an identified disaster area, have been affected by the disaster, and meet certain D-SNAP eligibility criteria,” Mendoza said.

Eligible households will receive one month of benefits – equal to the maximum monthly amount for a SNAP household of their size – that they can use to purchase groceries at SNAP-authorized stories or from select retailers online to meet their temporary food needs as they settle back home following the disaster. More details will be made available through the California Department of Social Services. The state agency estimates that approximately 6,500 new households may be eligible for up to $1,781,511 in D-SNAP assistance.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service works to end hunger and improve food and nutrition security through a suite of more than 15 nutrition assistance programs, such as the school breakfast and lunch programs, WIC and SNAP. Together, these programs serve 1 in 4 Americans over the course of a year, promoting consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable food essential to optimal health and wellbeing. FNS also provides science-based nutrition recommendations through the co-development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. FNS’s report, “Leveraging the White House Conference to Promote and Elevate Nutrition Security: The Role of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service,” highlights ways the agency will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy, released in conjunction with the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022. To learn more about FNS, visit https://www.fns.usda.gov/ and follow @USDANutrition.

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