ATLANTA — Food stamp recipients in 12 counties affected by Hurricane Matthew will soon receive reimbursement for the food they lost during power outages caused by the storm.
 
USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) on Friday approved a waiver to allow for mass replacement of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to Georgians in 12 counties that suffered mass power outages when Hurricane Matthew hit the Georgia coast last week.
 
The waiver allows Georgians whose food was spoiled during the power outages to replace what was purchased with SNAP funds.
 
SNAP recipients in Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, McIntosh, Screven and Wayne will automatically receive a replacement of 30 percent of September 2016 benefits.
 
SNAP recipients in those counties do not need to take action to receive the replacement benefits. The September replacement benefits will be automatically uploaded to their EBT card as soon as possible, but no later than Oct. 28, 2016. October benefits will not be affected.
 
The waiver eliminates the requirement for SNAP recipients in these counties` to provide documentation verifying a power outage. DFCS officials, working with local power companies and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency verified the mass outages in the 12 counties as part of the waiver application.
 
SNAP recipients who experienced a loss of food due to Hurricane Matthew but who do not reside in one of the counties covered by the waiver must complete a Food Loss Replacement Form, which can be found here - https://dfcs.georgia.gov/document/form/form-841-food-loss-replacement-form/download - and return it to the local DFCS office no later than Nov. 7, 2016.
 
To find your local county DFCS office, visit: https://dfcs.georgia.gov/locations
 
For additional information and updates, please visit www.dfcs.dhs.ga.gov or visit DFCS Facebook page at www.facebook.com/gadfcs.