USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has approved California’s waiver request to allow for the purchase of hot foods with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in select counties. As many California residents are not able to store food or access cooking facilities due to the wildfires, households in those counties can purchase hot foods with SNAP benefits through next Wednesday.
Interested in more coverage and insights? Receive a free month of Agri-Pulse West.
FNS has also approved automatic mass replacements of SNAP benefits to impacted households. This waiver allows households in certain counties and zip codes to receive replacement of 50% of their August SNAP benefits that were lost as a result of wildfires and power outages that began in mid-August.
Meanwhile, Blue Diamond is supporting fire relief victims through the rest of the month by matching Red Cross donations from its growers and employees for up to $10,000 each.
