The Department of Children and Family Services has seen a doubling in the usual number of food stamp applications.
DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says part of the surge in applications is likely because people think the program is expanded as it does following a natural disaster. But Walters says this crisis is not being treated as a natural disaster.
“Disaster SNAP is a federal program that the feds totally control and run and that is not the tool that they are using right now, so instead of D-SNAP, we’re saying get SNAP,” says Walters.
SNAP sends benefits to roughly 770,000 Louisiana residents currently.
Despite the increased work needed to process all the new applications, Walters does not foresee any disruptions to the usual distribution calendar.
“SNAP work is done through a debit card, we can load the food onto that card without anybody ever coming into the office,” says Walters.
If you’re one of those new applicants, Walters says the best way to find out about benefits is to text to 898-211, call 888-524-3578, or go to DCFS’s website.
“There is a lot of information on the DCFS website, and that is the easier and most accurate way to go, and we have the people on the hotline that know how to handle people’s questions and concerns,” says Walters.
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