If your food spoiled due to flooding or lack of electricity to run your fridge or freezer, you may qualify for replacement SNAP benefits. You can ask for replacement SNAP if you lost food that you bought with SNAP because:
- You lost power for 4 hours or more
- Your utilities were shut off (for any reason)
- Your home was damaged by a fire, flood, or storm.
How do I apply for replacement SNAP?
Update for Hurricane Helene
NEW: Replacement SNAP Benefits will go out to EBT cards electronically on or before Tuesday, October 15th. SNAP replacement benefits will automatically go out for residents living in any county that lost power for more than 4 hours during the storm. Full details from SCDSS.
Outside of Hurricane Helene
Tell the Department of Social Services (DSS) within 10 days of the food loss. You can do this by submitting a signed “Affidavit of Loss Due to Household Misfortune” form (Click here to download it ). This form is easy to fill out can be submitted to your local county office in person, by mail, or by fax. Note: this should not be necessary for those impacted by Hurricane Helene.
What happens next?
DSS will confirm the issue through news reports, contacting a third party (such as the utility company or fire department, the Red Cross, or community agency). If you are eligible, DSS will replace up to one month of SNAP. DSS should issue replacement SNAP quickly – within 10 days of getting the report of the food loss.
Other ways SNAP can help in an emergency:
- If you have little or no income or cash in the bank and are not already getting SNAP, you may be eligible to get emergency SNAP benefits within 7 days. Visit SCMAPP.sc.gov to learn more.
- If a natural disaster affects many people, the federal government can approve Disaster SNAP (DSNAP) for households not already on SNAP. DSNAP is a disaster program with higher income rules.
Click here for a downloadable version of this brochure and here for a Affidavit of Loss Due to Household Misfortune (1634B) form.
