Many residents affected by Hurricane Ian can now pre-register for federal disaster food aid in Lake, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties.
The USDA's Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- or D-SNAP -- kicked off in those counties on Monday.
D-SNAP pre-registration is at myflfamiles.com/dsnap. Later this week, people who are pre-registered can call in and apply.
Casey Penn, the assistant secretary for economic self-sufficiency at the Department of Children and Families, said there will be in-person interview locations but families should call instead.
"Once you call in, it's only eight to 10 minutes on that interview line, and our wait times have been really low," he said during a press conference in Seminole County. "You get your EBT card mailed out expeditedly right after that."
D-SNAP is for low-income families who may not have SNAP benefits. They can receive a onetime payment of the monthly maximum for their household size. For a family of four, that’s $939 to spend on food, according to the USDA.
Orange County completed its telephone interviews on Sunday.
