ATLANTA – Food stamp replacement benefits are on the way for recipients who lost food during power outages caused by Hurricane Irma in 69 Georgia counties.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), which oversees the food stamp program in Georgia, approved the state's request to replace 45 percent of September’s benefit allotment for customers living in the 69 counties most significantly impacted by the storm.

The waiver allows Georgians whose food was spoiled during the power outages to replace what was purchased with SNAP funds without the burden of filing paperwork to prove a power outage spoiled their food.

The approved counties include: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Banks, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Butts, Camden, Candler, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Crawford, Dawson, Dooly, Echols, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Glynn, Greene, Habersham, Hall, Hancock, Irwin, Jackson, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lanier, Lee, Long, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Macon, McIntosh, Mitchell, Monroe, Morgan, Oglethorpe, Peach, Pickens, Pierce, Pulaski, Putnam, Rockdale, Screven, Stewart, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Tift, Towns, Turner, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, White, Wilcox, Wilkes and Worth.

SNAP recipients in the counties covered by the waiver do not need to complete the Food Loss Replacement Form or take any action to receive the replacement benefits. Their September replacement benefits were automatically uploaded to their EBT card over the weekend and are currently available.

SNAP recipients who experienced a loss of food due to Hurricane Irma, but who do not reside in one of the counties covered by the waiver can still request a replacement. Recipients who have not already requested a replacement of benefits have until Oct 2. to submit a Food Loss Replacement Form (Form 841) in person or by mail to the local DFCS office.  The form does not need to be accompanied with verification from the utility company. 

October benefits will not be affected. 

The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services sought the mass replacement waiver to assist SNAP customers living in the most heavily impacted counties.  “We truly appreciate the support of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) as Georgia continues to recover from this devastating storm.  We also want to thank Georgia Power and the State’s Electric Membership Corporations for the extensive work they did to gather the information needed for the waiver,” said Bobby Cagle, Director of the Division of Family and Children Services. 

To locate a county DFCS office, visit: https://dfcs.georgia.gov/locations. To download the Food Loss Replacement Form (Form 841), visit https://dfcs.georgia.gov/document/form/form-841-food-loss-replacement-f….

For additional information and updates, please visit www.dfcs.georgia.gov or visit the DFCS Facebook page at www.facebook.com/gadfcs.