ATLANTA — Georgians who live in the hardest hit areas from Hurricane Helene and receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits can now temporarily use their benefits to purchase prepared or "hot foods" from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved retailers.
The Georgia Department of Human Services made the announcement on Thursday and said customers are approved to purchase prepared foods until Nov. 7.
SNAP recipients are not usually approved to purchase "hot foods" and instead must use their benefits to buy food that they can prepare at home, according to a release. However, weeks after Helene hit the state, thousands are still without power or water. So, the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) submitted a request to USDA to provide people with greater flexibility in how they feed their families.
According to a release, the prepared food waiver covers customers in the following counties:
- Appling
- Atkinson
- Bacon
- Baldwin
- Ben Hill
- Berrien
- Bleckley
- Brantley
- Brooks
- Bryan
- Bulloch
- Burke
- Butts
- Camden
- Candler
- Charlton
- Chatham
- Clinch
- Coffee
- Colquitt
- Columbia
- Cook
- Dodge
- Echols
- Effingham
- Elbert
- Emanuel
- Evans
- Franklin
- Glascock
- Glynn
- Habersham
- Hancock
- Hart
- Henry
- Irwin
- Jasper
- Jeff Davis
- Jefferson
- Jenkins
- Johnson
- Lamar
- Lanier
- Laurens
- Liberty
- Lincoln
- Long
- Lowndes
- Madison
- McDuffie
- McIntosh
- Mitchell
- Montgomery
- Morgan
- Monroe
- Newton
- Oglethorpe
- Pierce
- Rabun
- Richmond
- Rockdale
- Screven
- Spalding
- Stephens
- Taliaferro
- Tattnall,
- Telfair
- Thomas
- Tift
- Toombs
- Towns
- Treutlen
- Turner
- Twiggs
- Walton
- Ware
- Warren
- Washington
- Wayne
- Wilcox
- Wilkes
- Wilkinson
- Wheeler
- Worth
Those affected by Helene are encouraged to monitor the Georgia DHS website and its social media channels for updates, as well as the Salvation Army website for a list of feeding locations and the American Red Cross website for shelters.
