Hawaiʻi SNAP recipients get extended window to report storm-related food losses

Hawaiʻi officials are giving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients more time to seek replacement benefits for food lost during Tropical Cyclone Lala, including losses caused by prolonged power outages, flooding and other severe-weather impacts.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services said the Food and Nutrition Administration approved a statewide waiver extending the deadline for reporting food loss and requesting replacement SNAP benefits.

Under normal federal SNAP rules, households must report food loss within 10 days of the incident. The waiver extends the reporting period through Sept. 3. Statements submitted by that date will be considered timely, giving affected households an additional 20 days after the disaster date to file their requests.

Hawaiʻi currently has 84,889 SNAP households.

Gov. Josh Green said the extension is intended to help families still dealing with disruptions caused by the storm.

SNAP recipients seeking replacement benefits must submit a signed written statement containing the participant’s name, the specific date the food was lost, the estimated dollar value of the loss, a description of what happened and the participant’s contact information.

The Department of Human Services has a sample statement available on its website, but recipients may submit their own written statement. Requests can be submitted to any Department of Human Services Processing Center statewide.

Approved applicants will receive replacement benefits after the Department of Human Services validates the information.

The recipient must provide a signature and contact information so an eligibility worker can verify the information directly if necessary. If the statement does not include the recipient’s signature, the Department of Human Services said it will have to contact the individual to obtain one before processing the request.

Two Department of Human Services offices on Hawaiʻi Island — in Kaʻū–Nāʻālehu and Kohala — will remain closed until further notice due to ongoing statewide impacts on communication lines, transportation routes and cellular networks.

SNAP households should not mail or deliver documents to those two offices while they are closed. Instead, DHS is directing recipients to submit their statements to any other Department of Human Services Processing Center statewide.

Click here for additional information, which is available through the Department of Human Services or by calling the Statewide Public Assistance Information Line at 1-855-643-1643.