Residents of Leflore County and neighboring counties in the Delta and northeast Mississippi, such as Carroll and Sunflower, who lost their SNAP benefit food items as the result of power outages caused by last month’s winter storm have until Feb. 23 to request SNAP replacement benefits, the Mississippi Department of Human Services said in a statement Friday.
There are four criteria to be met to request SNAP replacement benefits, according to MDHS:
- SNAP replacements are only available to current SNAP clients.
- The amount of replacement benefits will not exceed the amount current clients already receive.
- Food loss must have been the result of a power outage lasting more than four hours caused by a natural disaster event. In the case of the winter storm, this would be due to snow and ice.
- The request for replacement benefits is a legal request that should be truthful and accurate.
Proof of a power outage can be requested from one’s utility provider for an official outage verification letter. A screenshot of a verified text message regarding the outage or a photo of a real-time, interactive power outage map count as proof of outages.
The application for the SNAP benefits replacement form can be accessed at the following link: https://www.mdhs.ms.gov/help/snap/current/snap-replacement-benefits/#EA…
For assistance with the SNAP benefit replacement process, call MDHS’ Economic Assistance Eligibility Client Services Center at 800-948-3050.
