Did Irma cause you to lose food? Here’s how you can replace it

Funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Florida’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, hundreds if not thousands of Manatee County residents can get some financial relief in restocking groceries lost to Hurricane Irma.

The Department of Children and Family Services oversees the program, and representatives were on hand at DeSoto Square mall on Sunday helping with the flow of residents who came for help on the first of three days the program will be on site. The program runs from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. through Tuesday.

Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel have coordinated the event and are set up inside the mall where Food for Florida qualifiers exit for additional disaster relief information and assistance.

Terry Field, a DCF employee working the site, said it’s not necessarily a new program, “But it’s been awhile since Manatee County was impacted by a hurricane so it may sound new to some people.”

The program works in a similar fashion as SNAP, but it’s referred to as D-SNAP because it is related to disaster assistance. Field said those people already receiving federal food benefits are not eligible.

“It’s for people who lost their groceries whether they had a freezer full of food and went days or weeks without power,” Field said. “Or maybe they evacuated and it took a significant part of their savings to get their family to safety. Those funds can be credited as well.”

It is a temporary program and those qualifying through the end of October have 90 days to use the cards. Field said many people preregistered for Sunday’s kickoff but applications will be taken at the site. Applications can be found online at dcf.state.fl.us/programs/access/fff.

“Most people who apply and qualify walk out of here with a card and the amount depends on the size of their family and the types of loss,” Field said.

Jose Menendez was one who qualified. His family was without power for several days and while they saved what they could using ice and coolers, it only lasted so long and eventually things began to spoil. Menendez also was out of much-needed work for several days after the storm.

“Everything is expensive when you have a family and the money only goes so far,” he said. “It’s been a struggle catching up, and I’m grateful for this. It really helps.”

A fraud unit is on site. While there are certain expenses that can be documented, grocery loss is largely on the honor system. Field said there are telltale signs if someone is being dishonest and they will get flagged for a more thorough application process.

Field said he wasn’t surprised at all by the sheer number of people who came out on day one to stand in long lines and continued to flow in throughout the day.

“Irma was different in the sense that it came up the middle of the state and impacted just about every county in the state,” he said. “Based on other counties that we have gone to so far, I’m not surprised at the turnout at all. There is a real need and this can hopefully ease some of that financial burden off of people.”

This story was originally published October 15, 2017 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Did Irma cause you to lose food? Here’s how you can replace it."