New Post-Sandy Food Help for Up to 100,000 NJ Families
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TRENTON, N.J. - New help is available this week for as many as 100,000 New Jersey families trying to get back on their feet in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Just in time for the holidays, director Adele LaTourette of the New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition says, those who are not already receiving food stamp assistance can apply for Disaster "SNAP" help with their food bills.
"This was the Christie administration's choice to go ahead and make these benefits available. They really worked hard making them not just available, but making sure that the people who received them were in fact in need, and makes a real difference in their lives."
LaTourette says these first-line "D-SNAP" benefits against hunger are available this week, only to New Jersey residents in the 16 counties hardest-hit by Sandy.
Ellen Vollinger, legal/food stamp director of the Food Research and Action Center, says those in the relief zone are eligible for electronic debit cards, worth as much as $200, that families can use at local groceries to support themselves and the local economy.
"That's going to be important, not only for them and for their nutrition; it's going to be important as communities in New Jersey try to recover from what has hit them very hard, physically and economically."
Adele LaTourette says disaster relief is just one of many ways federal food assistance helps families cope in situations they had no way to plan for. It's also a reason she believes Congress needs to maintain full funding for the SNAP program.
"Unfortunately, we've had a lot of disasters, so you're seeing more use of the program and more states going for it, and I think it very clearly points out that any attempt to limit access to the program is misguided at best."
The D-SNAP program is administered by the USDA and applications need to be made this week. To find out if your family qualifies, look online at njsnap.org.
Food Research and Action Center has been tracking how states and counties have responded to the storm: frac.org.
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