Failing to provide this assistance will leave Hoosiers to suffer further consequences of August’s severe weather
Today, Feeding Indiana’s Hungry called on the State of Indiana to immediately work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to approve Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) funding made available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This funding is separate and in addition to mass replacement of SNAP benefits already in place for Hoosiers impacted by the severe weather that caused massive food loss and extended, unprecedented power outages, resulting in untold human impacts throughout Indiana on August 11th.
The following statement may be attributed to Emily Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry:
“We are thankful for the cross-agency collaboration achieved by Gov. Braun, Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, FEMA, and USDA to issue mass replacement SNAP benefits for those households impacted by the severe weather in Indiana in August,” stated Emily Weikert Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry.
“At the same time, we urge the State to take swift action to assist low-income Hoosiers with additional grocery and food assistance—it is not too late for Indiana to apply for critical support designed to assist Americans experiencing storm recovery like so many Hoosiers in the past month.”
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*Background: USDA Disaster SNAP benefits can be made available to non-SNAP recipient households. Indiana’s SNAP eligibility income threshold is tied for the lowest in the nation; families just one dollar over the limit lost food, and countless households across the state have no recourse besides state disaster relief funds that cover other recovery needs like home repair.
With this first major disaster in some time under our belts, we hope we can deploy lessons learned effectively and early, should Hoosiers again be impacted by dangerous storms, flooding, widespread power outages, or any other event in the future.
