Georgia Receives Waiver Approval for Mass Replacement of SNAP Benefits

On Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service approved a waiver to allow for mass replacement of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to Georgians hardest hit by Hurricane Helene. Georgia SNAP recipients in 58 counties will soon automatically receive reimbursement of 75% of their September 2024 SNAP benefits for the food they lost during power outages caused by the storm. No action is needed by SNAP recipients.

Counties covered in the mass replacement waiver include Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bleckley, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Glynn, Hancock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, McDuffie, McIntosh, Montgomery, Pierce, Rabun, Richmond, Stephens, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wheeler, Wilcox, and Wilkes.

The waiver allows Georgia SNAP recipients residing in the specified counties whose food was spoiled during the power outages to replace food purchased with SNAP funds without requiring them to provide documentation verifying a power outage. Officials with the Georgia Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Division of Family & Children Services worked with local power companies and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to verify the mass outages in the counties as part of the waiver application.

The replacement benefits will be automatically uploaded to the SNAP recipient’s EBT card. Timing of issuance will be posted on the Georgia DHS website when available. Households that have already received replacement benefits based on a signed affidavit of loss will be excluded from the mass replacement process.

Georgians affected by Hurricane Helene are encouraged to monitor the Georgia DHS website and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, and X) for timely updates, as well as visit the Salvation Army website for a list of feeding locations and the American Red Cross website for shelters.