SNAP Assistance and the 66 Texas Counties…

Frio landed on a good list today!

Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has received federal approval to automatically provide replacement benefits for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in 66 impacted counties for food lost or destroyed due to winter storm Uri, which began on Feb. 11, according to Governor Abbott’s February 24th press release. The good news: Frio is one of the qualifying counties. The notice refers to “partial” replacement, so it is unclear how much of the benefit will be replaced.

Until this announcement, SNAP recipients were required to download a form, then either fax or mail their application to receive replacement benefits. No digital application tools were available.

Current SNAP recipients in the 66 counties receiving approval for automatic replacement benefits do not need to take any action and do not need to call 2-1-1 to receive their replacement benefits. Recipients in the affected counties will automatically receive a percentage of their February benefit allotment on their Lone Star cards by March 4.

Three days ago, Governor Greg Abbott announced the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) received federal approval to allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to use their food benefits to purchase hot foods and ready-to-eat meals due to impacts from the severe winter storm. SNAP recipients can now use their benefits for hot foods and ready-to-eat foods, such as rotisserie chicken or grocery store deli foods, at retailers that accept SNAP anywhere in the state through the end of March.

Counties eligible to receive automatic partial replacement include: Angelina, Aransas, Bastrop, Blanco, Borden, Brazoria, Brewster, Burnet, Calhoun, Chambers, Coke, Colorado, Comanche, Cooke, Delta, Duval, Eastland, Edwards, Falls, Frio, Galveston, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Goliad, Haskell, Irion, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kerr, Kinney, Knox, La Salle, Leon, Liberty, Live Oak, Llano, Loving, Lynn, Martin, Matagorda, McCulloch, Medina, Menard, Mitchell, Montgomery, Oldham, Parker, Reagan, Refugio, San Patricio, San Saba, Stephens, Sterling, Sutton, Terrell, Throckmorton, Trinity, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Waller, Williamson, Young, Zapata, and Zavala.”