Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits) households that have been affected by the power outage of more than six hours caused by the storm last Tuesday, April 9, can request a replacement for their lost food stamps. The Mississippi Department of Human Services advises that if food purchased with SNAP benefits was destroyed due to a disaster, households may receive replacement SNAP benefits.
The replacement will be proportional to the amount of loss for the household, but not more than the maximum amount of SNAP benefits issued for the month, households must report the disaster to their local MDHS office within 10 days of the date of the disaster.
Get Help With Your Lost SNAP Benefits
If you want to get help from SNAP, contact your local human services office, those in charge will conduct a study to see if you qualify. If you are already a SNAP recipient, we also recommend contacting your state service agency, to update your information if one of the following applies as it may increase your benefit, or if you have questions or concerns about your benefit:
- If you recently had a drop in income
- If you have a recent increase in certain expenses, or believe the state does not know about these expenses: housing or child care costs, child support payments, or if there is anyone in your household who is 60 or older, or has a disability or Monthly medical expenses of $35 or more.
What Factors Influence Eligibility for SNAP Benefits?
Gross monthly income, the household’s income before any of the program’s deductions are granted, generally must be equal to or less than one hundred and thirty percent of the poverty line. For a family of three, the income taken as poverty to calculate SNAP in federal fiscal year 2024 is two thousand seventy-two dollars per month.
The poverty threshold for a large family will be greater than that of a family of three, which is equivalent to approximately $2,694 per month or $32,328 per year, following guidelines explained below:
- The net income of the household after applying the deductions must be at the poverty line or below the parameter.
- Households with a member who is sixty years old or older or with a disability can have assets equal to or less than $4,250, while households without a member with those characteristics must have assets of $2,750 or less.
What is considered income and assets according to SNAP?
Income: Any source of cash foreign exchange, including income from work.(before payroll taxes are deducted) and non-earned income such as cash assistance, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and child support.
Assets: Generally, they are the resources that are available for the household to purchase food, such as amounts in bank accounts. The house, vehicles, pension funds do not count.
Who is not eligible for SNAP?
There is a group of people who are not eligible for SNAP regardless of their income or assets, they are those people who are on strike, all people whose immigration status is undocumented, some students who go to university more than part-time, certain People with felony drug convictions in some states, some adults ages 18 to 52 who do not have children at home, without disabilities are limited to three months.
