BATON ROUGE – The Department of Child and Family Services is encouraging residents affected by the severe storms or flooding to pre-register for DSNAP benefits online.

DCFS said Monday that the department is preparing applications for East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes. The list of parishes is expected to grow.

DSNAP, formerly called disaster food stamps, provides assistance to households that do not receive regular SNAP benefits and need help to buy groceries after a disaster.

The best way to pre-register is online at the DCFS website. Residents can also register by phone starting Tuesday at 1-888-LA-HELP-U between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

All pre-registrants must provide the name, social security number and date of birth for each household member. They must also have their household address, monthly income for each member and list all liquid assets (cash on hand, checking and savings)  for each member.