Help available for SNAP clients who lost food to power outages

BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakotans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have 10 days to seek replacement benefits if they lost food due to power outages from the weekend storm that struck on April 30. They must report their loss to a county social service office by May 9.

The weekend storm caused power outages affecting thousands of individuals in an area that includes Adams, Billings, Bowman, Burke, Divide, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, McKenzie, Mercer, Mountrail, Renville, Slope, Stark, Ward, and Williams counties, as well as the Fort Berthold Reservation.

N.D. Department of Human Services officials work with county social service offices to issue replacement benefits if participating households have their food supplies damaged or destroyed due to power outages or other disaster situations.

“We know that many individuals lost power for an extended period of time, and we are concerned about food spoilage. We want affected households to know help is available,” program director Arlene Dura said.

Dura said that after county social service offices verify a food loss, replacement SNAP benefits are issued to affected clients’ debit cards, called EBT cards. Clients use EBT cards at participating grocery stores and other retailers to purchase food items.

Individuals with questions can contact their county social service office or the N.D. Department of Human Services at 800-755-2716.

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