North Dakota residents who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to afford food and who lost supplies due to recent power outages in the state will be able to get a boost on their benefits.
Thousands of homes and businesses in eastern North Dakota were left without power on December 26 and 27 as the state was hit by an ice storm which caused disruptions in transportation in the region. Sections of Interstate 29 were closed overnight. It was the first time since 2016 that the National Weather Service (NWS) issued an ice storm warning for North Dakota.
The icy and wet conditions caused delays in the restoration of power for the many homes left without electricity, leading energy provider Otter Tail Power to apologize for its crew not being able "to restore power to as many communities as we'd hoped," as quoted by MPR News.
As of 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 28, almost 20,000 people in eastern North Dakota were still without power, as reported by KFYR TV. Among the many left without power for hours, there are likely SNAP beneficiaries who might have had products bought with the program's assistance in their fridges.
For those who experienced power outages longer than four hours and reside in the counties of Barnes, Cass, Ransom, Traill, Dickey, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Richland, Sargent, Steele, Griggs, Stutsman or Grand Forks, the program will now offer benefits boost if they report their food losses.
SNAP will offer the equivalent of the food loss up to the monthly benefit amount received in December.
Eligible households have 10 days from the day they lost food to request replacement benefits to SNAP. They must report their food loss to the HHS Customer Support Center by email at applyforhelp@nd.gov, phone at (866) 614-6005 or (701) 328-1000. 711 (TTY) or mail to Customer Support Center, P.O. Box 5562, Bismarck ND 58506. Another option is to report the food loss at a local Human Service Zone office.
SNAP is the country's largest federal nutrition assistance program helping low-income families buy healthy food in the quantities they need. It is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
A total of 12.5 percent of the American population—equal to 41.2 million people—received monthly SNAP benefits in the 2022 fiscal year, according to data released by the Pew Research Center in summer 2023.
In North Dakota, the January payment was released on the first day of the month. Not every state receives payments on the same day. Newsweek contacted North Dakota Health & Human Services for comment by email on Tuesday.
The Division of Public Assistance which issues SNAP benefits has recently introduced an online version of the application to the program, which it said is off to a good start, as reported by KTFV. Before the new system was introduced on December 27, applicants had to use a 28-page long document that took about an hour to compile for a family of four with one income.
The new online form can be completed, on average, in 20 minutes, the news outlet reported.
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