Replacement Food Stamps Will Cover Food Spoiled by Power Outages
July 6, 2012 
4 Comments
Maryland Department of Human Resources Secretary Ted Dallas said that low-income Marylanders enrolled in the Food Supplement Program (FSP) are eligible for replacement benefits to cover food spoiled during power outages from last weekend’s severe storms.
Marylanders who get nutrition benefits will be reimbursed for food that spoiled while electricity was out.
Residents in the FSP program will automatically receive the benefits if they meet certain criteria (see below).
The replacement benefits are funded by the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. Because Gov. Martin O’Malley declared the state to be in a “State of Emergency,” additional USDA benefits become automatically available. Replacement FSP benefits are only available to those already enrolled in the FSP.
Eligibility criteria
Emergency benefits will come automatically if you meet the following criteria:
- If you live in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties or Baltimore City.
- If you are currently were enrolled in the Maryland Food Supplement Program before the storm;
- If you lost power as a result of the severe thunderstorms that affected the entire State of Maryland on June 29 and June 30, 2012; and
- If you had refrigerated or frozen food spoil as a result of that power loss.
No additional action is necessary. If you live in an area outside of these counties, you may qualify, but the replacement benefits will not be automatic.
Can you tell me if there will be considerationgiven for hard working people who are not on food stamps that lost all of their food due to the power outage? This is hard times in a recovering economy!
I agree with the writer, we are all struggling, I lost all the food in my freezer and refrigerator and to replace those items are going to create a huge burden on my budget. I had just gone grocery shopping before the storm. I lost a significant amount of food and on top of that we were forced to eat out because I use electricity for cooking. To replace the items I lost is going to be devastating at best. If the Governor called a state of emergency then shouldn’t we get reimbursed for some of our loss?
Please let me know where I
Food loss can be covered by your homeowners insurance if the value of the loss is more than your deductible (particularly if you had other storm damage). Check with your insurance agent on how to file a claim. In addition, Red Cross and local food pantries can supplement losses suffered due to the storm. Check with the Anne Arundel County Foodbank http://www.aafoodbank.org/ if you need help finding a location of a local food pantry.
Don’t feel cheated, those of foodstamps only got a small % of one week of their monthly amount. I got about $25, and I am sure I lost several hundred dollars of food since i have a freezer and I buy when foods are on sale, so I lost lots of meat.