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Hurricane Irma: Florida Disaster SNAP benefits guide

Hurricane Irma: Disaster SNAP benefits guide
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The Florida Department of Children and Families’ (DCF) will open the first Disaster SNAP (or Food for Florida) sites this week and reminds Floridians seeking disaster food assistance of important details prior to visiting a Food for Florida site.

To qualify for the Food for Florida Disaster Food Assistance Program, individuals must have lived or worked in one of the 48 declared counties on September 5, and NOT be a customer in the regular food assistance program.  

Individuals and authorized representatives are strongly encouraged to pre-register online. Pre-registration is a brief application process that adds your information to the system in advance of your local site visit. This application is available here, at the Food for Florida website. Pre-registering on the day prior to visiting your local Food for Florida site will allow for faster processing of your application on-site.  

All Food for Florida dates and locations will be posted on the Site Locations link on the Food for Florida website. Service at site locations will be organized by day according to the first letter of your last name. Each site’s alphabetical serving order is listed on the site locations webpage. This program is not first come, first serve. Everyone’s application will be taken and processed at their appropriate county location. 

One EBT card per eligible household will be issued so only the applicant needs to visit the local Food for Florida site in person. Additional individuals attending may contribute to longer lines and extended service times. 

To make your visit to your local Food for Florida site as convenient as possible, remember these important items:

  • Fill out the initial application the day before visiting your local site via the pre-registration link at the Food for Florida website.
  • Only one applicant needs to visit the site in person as only one EBT card will be issued per eligible household.
  • Visit the local site on the indicated date for your last name. 
  • Current food assistance participants should not visit the local Food for Florida site or pre-register; additional September/October benefits will be added to your EBT card within five days of your county’s Food for Florida site opening.

Food for Florida sites will open across the state over the next five weeks to serve eligible Floridians who lived or worked in the 48 counties FEMA declared for Individual Assistance following damage from Hurricane Irma. Sites are opening on specific dates based on the infrastructure required to support a Food for Florida operation, such as venue size, power, and accessibility, as well as community resources available to purchase and safely store food.  

For more information, visit the Food for Florida website.