MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama Department of Human Resources has received federal approval to distribute Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) benefits to qualifying Gulf Coast residents living in Baldwin, Escambia and Mobile counties in the wake of Hurricane Sally. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service approved the program today for Alabama’s Gulf Coast at the request of DHR.
Last week, DHR announced the approval of automatic replacement benefits for thousands of SNAP recipients along the Gulf Coast. Those benefits are intended to replace food purchased with SNAP that was lost to widespread power outages. Current SNAP recipients are not eligible for D-SNAP, due to already being approved for these replacement benefits.
The D-SNAP application period for non-SNAP households in Baldwin and Escambia counties will begin Monday, October 5, 2020, and continue through Friday, October 9. For Mobile County, the application period will begin Tuesday, October 13, and continue through Friday, October 16, and then resume for a final day on Monday, October 19.
Non-SNAP households can begin the process of requesting disaster food assistance by submitting a pre-screening form via a new online portal launched by DHR to promote social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. All residents who submit the pre-screening form must also complete an interview as part of the certification process. The pre-screening tool will be available online each day of the application period from 6am-7pm at https://dhr.alabama.gov/. Approved benefits will be delivered via EBT cards.
If requested, elderly and/or disabled households can get assistance completing the pre-screening form by calling their local DHR office during the designated dates mentioned above and between the hours of 8am-5pm.
Alabama DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner said, “The financial burden of Hurricane Sally is weighing heavy upon many Alabamians who were already struggling at the hands of COVID-19. The availability of this food assistance is needed to lighten their load and to alleviate hunger. DHR stands with the Gulf and will continue seeking relief for its residents using all the tools at our disposal.”
D-SNAP benefits are reserved for non-SNAP, income-eligible households with both unreimbursed disaster-related expenses and food loss caused by Hurricane Sally. Disaster-related expenses include:
- Home or business repairs
- Temporary shelter expenses
- Evacuation or relocation expenses
- Home or business protection
- Disaster-related personal injury
- Lost or no access to income due to the disaster
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