WBRZ - Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) announced today that the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service has approved the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (DSNAP) for East Baton Rouge Parish.

The program will begin on Monday.

DCFS Secretary Suzy Sonnier is urging residents to pre-apply for DSNAP benefits before visiting a DSNAP site.

DSNAP locations in East Baton Rouge Parish will be announced in the coming days. The sites will operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for a five-day period and will serve applicants on the following alphabetic schedule.

Applicants should go to a DSNAP location only on the one day designated for the first letter of their last name during the five-day program:

Monday, September 24 - A through C
Tuesday, September 25 - D through G
Wednesday, September 26 - H through L
Thursday, September 27 - M through R
Friday, September 28 - S through Z

Applicants who are unable to visit a site on their designated day can send an authorized representative on the day designated for the applicant's last name.

An authorized representative will need to bring a copy of the government ID for whom they are applying, as well as a signed statement from that person giving the authorized representative permission to act on their behalf.

The best way to pre-apply is by phone at 1-888-LA-HELP-U (1-888-524-3578) daily between 6 a.m. and midnight.

Residents can also pre-apply by visiting www.dcfs.louisiana.gov/preapply.

All pre-applicants must have resided in East Baton Rouge Parish on August 26 and must provide the following information:
• Names, Social Security Numbers and Dates of Birth for each household member;
• Address and Parish where you currently live;
• Income for each household member for the period August 26 through September 24; and
• All liquid resources for each household member (cash on hand, checking, savings).
• Unreimbursed disaster expenses during the disaster period of August 26 and September 24

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.

On average, a family of four can have an adjusted gross monthly income of no more than $2,477 to be eligible for DSNAP.

For information on income guidelines, visit www.dcfs.la.gov or call 211.