The Coushatta office of DCFS has been busy this week. They are assisting residents with replacement of SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits disrupted by the storm.

The Journal asked the local office supervisor for details. We were referred to DCFS in Baton Rouge and Heidi Kenchen.

Kenchen told us, “According to Sammy Guillory, DCFS Deputy Assistant Secretary of Family Support: For any household misfortune that causes food loss (fire, flood, power outages, etc.), SNAP recipients can request a replacement of their benefits by completing an affidavit at the local DCFS office. For power outages, the recipient must have lost power for a minimum of 24 hours. We have power outage reports from most utility companies so that we can verify the outages, but in some instances where we do not have the reports, the recipient may have to obtain verification from their local utility company.”

A notice posted on the door of the Coushatta office informs patrons that they are not processing Disaster SNAP at this time. Only current SNAP recipients can apply for “replacement benefits.”