Hurricane Dorian: Help With Food

Due to Hurricane Dorian flexibilities have been made available for people who receive Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) benefits and participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Food and Nutrition Services (FNS)

Early Issuance

  • North Carolina households who currently receive Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) received September 2019 benefits by Sept. 7 so that they could purchase food following Hurricane Dorian. This was to enable households to immediately purchase and replace food that was lost as a result of the storm. This is not extra money. Please budget for buying food wisely!
  • During October, households receiving FNS benefits from Oct. 1-15 will receive benefits on their normal cycle. Those receiving benefits from Oct. 17-21 will receive them Oct. 15.

Replacement Benefits

  • Families who have a loss of food purchased with their FNS benefits had longer than the normal 10 days to report the loss to receive replacement benefits. Households had until Sept. 30 to request a replacement. This provided additional time for families who could not report a food loss to their local Department of Social Services (DSS) office due to displacement, transportation issues or other storm-related hardships.
  • In 11 counties that were heavily impacted by power outages due to Hurricane Dorian, FNS beneficiaries automatically received replacement benefits that equaled 30 percent of their August 2019 benefits.
    • FNS beneficiaries in eight counties – Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Currituck, Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington – received this on Sept. 16. 
    • In Craven, Jones and Pamlico counties, the additional benefits were made available on Sept. 20.
    • Households already approved for replacement benefits in the 11 counties were not included in this issuance.
    • Families in the 11 counties with a loss of food greater than 30 percent of their August 2019 benefit can still claim a larger loss with their local DSS office.

Questions

If you have questions please call the EBT Call Center at 1-888-622-7328 or download the free ebtEDGE app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

 

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

  • WIC participants in storm-affected counties who were scheduled to receive their benefits the week of Sept. 2 had those benefits automatically added to their eWIC card by the state WIC office. 
  • Participants can confirm that benefits have been added by calling the eWIC customer service line at 844-230-0813 or by accessing their account at www.mybnft.com or using the Bnft® app.