The U.S. Department of Agriculture on October 8, 2024, approved a temporary waiver that will allow participants in the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in 84 Georgia counties to buy hot foods with their benefits through November 7, 2024.
The 84 approved counties are: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Franklin, Glascock, Glynn, Habersham, Hancock, Hart, Henry, Irwin, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lamar, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, Madison, McDuffie, McIntosh, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morgan, Monroe, Newton, Oglethorpe, Pierce, Rabun, Richmond, Rockdale, Screven, Spalding, Stephens, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Towns, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Walton, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson, Wheeler, and Worth.
USDA emphasized the importance of the waiver, noting that many Georgia residents evacuated to shelters cannot store food and lack access to cooking facilities as a result. Under normal circumstances, hot foods cannot be bought using SNAP benefits. SNAP authorized retailers have been notified of the approval.
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is ready to consider additional waivers that may be needed to help program participants who have lost food due to the disaster and to simplify the application process for affected households, upon request from the Georgia Department of Human Services.
