News Intro Text
[Mazon, September 19, 2016]
Date
News Item Content
<p>In August 2016, prolonged rainfall in southern Louisiana resulted in catastrophic flooding. The floods were called the worst natural disaster since 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, and Louisiana’s Governor quickly declared a state of emergency. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. Many are currently living in shelters, and Louisianans are facing damage to their property, lost income, and a lack of insurance.</p>
<p>As families confront wrecked homes and collapsed businesses, additional support is critical, and food banks are overloaded and overwhelmed. Natalie Jayroe, President and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans, tells us: “To date we have distributed more than 800,000 pounds of food, water and cleaning supplies to an estimated 87,000 people in 19 parishes. Given the level of damage and disruption, we anticipate providing heightened levels of support for the next several months.”</p>
<p>At a time like this, D-SNAP, or “Disaster SNAP,” is a crucial tool to help people who do not normally receive SNAP get back on their feet. D-SNAP is an addendum to the SNAP program that provides short-term food assistance to eligible households who have disaster-related expenses (a disaster-related expense may include temporary housing or personal injury). The benefits are not robust, and only last 30 days, but they do provide an extra dose of support during an emergency situation.</p>
<p>States require authorization for D-SNAP benefits after a natural disaster, and an affected area must have received a Presidential declaration of “Major Disaster” in order to request a D-SNAP. The federal Food and Nutrition Service, or FNS, authorizes states to provide the benefits. In addition to Louisiana, D-SNAP is currently active in California (for people affected by ongoing fires) and Michigan (for people affected by lead water). In the past year, it has been enacted to benefit people affected by catastrophes such as flooding in West Virginia, snow storms in New Mexico, and tornadoes in Missouri.</p>
<p><a href="http://mazon.org/inside-mazon/the-vital-importance-of-disaster-snap">MORE>></a></p>
<p>As families confront wrecked homes and collapsed businesses, additional support is critical, and food banks are overloaded and overwhelmed. Natalie Jayroe, President and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans, tells us: “To date we have distributed more than 800,000 pounds of food, water and cleaning supplies to an estimated 87,000 people in 19 parishes. Given the level of damage and disruption, we anticipate providing heightened levels of support for the next several months.”</p>
<p>At a time like this, D-SNAP, or “Disaster SNAP,” is a crucial tool to help people who do not normally receive SNAP get back on their feet. D-SNAP is an addendum to the SNAP program that provides short-term food assistance to eligible households who have disaster-related expenses (a disaster-related expense may include temporary housing or personal injury). The benefits are not robust, and only last 30 days, but they do provide an extra dose of support during an emergency situation.</p>
<p>States require authorization for D-SNAP benefits after a natural disaster, and an affected area must have received a Presidential declaration of “Major Disaster” in order to request a D-SNAP. The federal Food and Nutrition Service, or FNS, authorizes states to provide the benefits. In addition to Louisiana, D-SNAP is currently active in California (for people affected by ongoing fires) and Michigan (for people affected by lead water). In the past year, it has been enacted to benefit people affected by catastrophes such as flooding in West Virginia, snow storms in New Mexico, and tornadoes in Missouri.</p>
<p><a href="http://mazon.org/inside-mazon/the-vital-importance-of-disaster-snap">MORE>></a></p>