Disaster Food Assistance Available In Ames

Press release from the City of Ames:

September 15, 2020

The Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) has announced that Story County residents may be eligible to receive Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP). Story County residents who were impacted by the derecho and subsequent power outages due to the August 10 storm can apply for benefits in person from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today through Saturday, Sept. 19, at ISU Research Park Building 2, 2625 N. Loop Drive, in Ames.

Those who are eligible to receive D-SNAP benefits will receive food dollars on an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card that is equivalent to the maximum allotment of Food Assistance benefits for their household size. D-SNAP benefits can be used for food purchases at any SNAP-authorized retailer, including farmers markets and certain online retailers.

Households who have already received Food Assistance/SNAP benefits in August or September 2020 are not eligible for D-SNAP because maximum allotments were already issued for those households due to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency. D-SNAP eligibility differs from Food Assistance, so households should review the eligibility criteria for application.

Applicants must apply in person to receive D-SNAP benefits. The first hour of operation is reserved to process applications for the elderly and individuals with disabilities. Applicants should not arrive more than one hour earlier than the posted start time.

Information for D-SNAP in additional counties is available at https://dhs.iowa.gov/

For more information about the program, including where D-SNAP benefits can be used, please visit https://dhs.iowa.gov/

This press release was produced by the City of Ames. The views expressed here are the author’s own.