Residents of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee impacted by Hurricane Helene are qualified to receive food assistance through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program D-SNAP, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In an emergency situation that prevents people from having difficulties meeting their food costs, this program supplies temporary support.
If people meet specified income limits as a result of the disaster and their disaster-related expenses, they can also receive benefits if they don’t normally qualify for SNAP through the regular program.
Who can benefit from D-SNAP in Georgia?
Based on state estimates, it is estimated that in Georgia, around 982,930 households could potentially benefit from this assistance, intended to help affected families meet their basic food needs. It will now roll out in phases over several weeks. The dates and corresponding counties are as follows:
Phase 1: October 21, 2024 – October 26, 2024
| Counties Included |
|---|
| Bryan |
| Bulloch |
| Chatham |
| Effingham |
| Evans |
| Liberty |
| Long |
Phase 2: October 29, 2024 – November 4, 2024
| Counties Included |
|---|
| Atkinson |
| Bacon |
| Ben Hill |
| Berrien |
| Brantley |
| Brooks |
| Camden |
| Charlton |
| Clinch |
| Coffee |
| Colquitt |
| Cook |
| Echols |
| Glynn |
| Irwin |
| Lanier |
| Lowndes |
| Pierce |
| Tift |
| Ware |
Phase 3: November 7, 2024 – November 14, 2024
| Counties Included |
|---|
| Burke |
| Columbia |
| Glascock |
| Jefferson |
| Jenkins |
| Lincoln |
| McDuffie |
| Richmond |
| Screven |
| Washington |
Phase 4: November 18, 2024 – November 23, 2024
| Counties Included |
|---|
| Appling |
| Candler |
| Emanuel |
| Jeff Davis |
| Johnson |
| Laurens |
| Montgomery |
| Tattnall |
| Telfair |
| Toombs |
| Treutlen |
| Wayne |
| Wheeler |
How to apply for D-SNAP assistance?
Qualification for D-SNAP requires a household to reside or be employed in one of the disaster-affected areas, have incurred losses because of a disaster, and meet more specific criteria. Food assistance for eligible households will be provided in the amount of the maximum monthly SNAP amount for household size. This assistance can only be used to purchase food at authorized SNAP retailers, and in some cases, online retailers too.
- NOTE: D-SNAP is a temporary emergency measure and is only available to those applicants in designated disaster areas who meet the program requirements.
What about households already receiving SNAP?
Finally, just to note that households currently participating in SNAP are not eligible for D-SNAP. But the USDA granted additional SNAP benefits to households already enrolled in SNAP and living in hurricane-affected areas of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. This is a measure to be sure that no more than the maximum benefit for their family size is received by those households who are not already.
Currently, SNAP recipients in affected counties do not need to take any additional action to get these supplemental benefits. The additional payments will be automatically issued by state SNAP authorities.
Additional benefits for other affected counties
Households elsewhere in the state who were not included in any D-SNAP phases and which were impacted by Hurricane Helene can still apply for supplemental benefits through the state’s SNAP agency. This ensures that all the families that are otherwise hit hardest by these storms have access to the needed food assistance during this recovery period.