NOTE: The application period for DSNAP benefits in the following parishes has ended and residents are no longer eligible to apply - Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. Mary, St. James, St. John, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington and West Feliciana.
The Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, DSNAP, provides food assistance for eligible households who do not receive regular SNAP benefits and who need help buying groceries due to lost income or damages following a disaster.
Regular SNAP households DO NOT need to apply for DSNAP. Households that receive regular SNAP benefits in approved DSNAP parishes will automatically have additional DSNAP benefits added to their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards if they are not already receiving the maximum allotment for their household size.
The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has released the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (DSNAP) schedule for Friday in East Baton Rouge, the final day sites will be open in the parish.
The six sites will serve parish residents who have last names beginning with S-Z on Friday, September 28. All sites will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sites serving East Baton Rouge Parish are:
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Southern University F.G. Clark Activity Center, Harding Blvd.
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Former Sam's Club, 7685 Airline Hwy.
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Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, 9700 Scenic Hwy.
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Healing Place Church, 19202 Highland Road
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Former Walmart, 14740 Plank Rd., Baker
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Lamar Dixon Expo Center, 9030 S. Landry Rd., Gonzales
To help expedite the application process, individuals should pre-apply for Hurricane Isaac DSNAP either online at www.dcfs.la.gov/preapply or www.getagameplan.org or by calling 1-888-LAHELP-U (888-524-3578) prior to coming to a site. When applying by phone, callers should select the appropriate language and then select options 3 and 3.
DSNAP is an income eligibility based program to assist eligible households who do not receive regular SNAP benefits and who need help buying groceries due to lost income or damages following a disaster. Eligibility is determined by federal guidelines and is based on an individual's known or expected income, resources (such as cash on hand, saving and checking account balances) and unreimbursed disaster expenses during the disaster period of August 26 and September 24. For more information on income guidelines, visit www.dcfs.la.gov or call 211.
DSNAP benefits are loaded on to cards at midnight after the card is issued. Technical problems with the DSNAP card can be addressed by returning to the DSNAP issuance site if it is still open or by staff at a local DCFS Economic Stability office.
Individuals who already have received DSNAP cannot reapply. Attempts to defraud the DSNAP program will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Applicants who knowingly provide inaccurate or incomplete information as part of a DSNAP application could face criminal prosecution and disqualification of benefits. DCFS will investigate suspected fraud and aggressively pursue recoupment and possibly prosecution.
