AUSTIN – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) today announced it has received federal approval to allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to apply for replacement benefits for food lost or destroyed due to recent severe winter weather by dialing 2-1-1.

“Prolonged localized power outages may have spoiled food for Texas families across our state during last week’s ice storm,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “I thank HHSC for ensuring Texans impacted by this winter weather are able to apply for replacement SNAP benefits so that they can keep fresh, healthy food on the table.”

“We hope that the replacement SNAP benefits will help Texas families who may have been impacted by the recent winter weather storm. These benefits will help Texans replace healthy and nutritious food that was lost due to power outages,” said Texas HHS Access and Eligibility Services Deputy Executive Commissioner Wayne Salter.

SNAP recipients who have had food lost or destroyed due to the winter storm last week need to apply for replacement food benefits for regular SNAP allotments and SNAP emergency allotments. SNAP recipients in the counties below have until Feb. 28, 2023, to request a benefit replacement:

Anderson, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Brazoria, Brooks, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Cameron, Cherokee, Coke, Collin, Comal, Concho, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Gillespie, Harris, Hays, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hill, Hopkins, Hunt, Irion, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Lamar, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Llano, Mason, McLennan, Milam, Montgomery, Navarro, Parker, Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rockwall, Smith, Sterling, Tarrant, Titus, Travis, Van Zandt, Waller, Wichita, Williamson, and Wood.

SNAP recipients not living in the listed counties above must request benefit replacement within 10 days of discovering their food was lost or destroyed due to the winter storm.

SNAP clients are encouraged to request their replacement food benefits by dialing 2-1-1 and selecting option 2. Recipients can also download Form H1855 on the HHSC website. Completed forms should be mailed to Texas Health and Human Services; P.O. Box 149027; Austin, TX; 78714-9027, or faxed to 1-877-447-2839. Replacement funds should be placed on Lone Star Cards within two business days of HHSC receiving the request.

SNAP is a federal program administered by HHSC that provides food assistance to approximately 1.6 million eligible, low-income families and individuals in Texas. More information is available at hhs.texas.gov. Texas residents can dial 2-1-1 to learn about programs and services.

The East Texas Food Bank will distribute emergency food boxes and meat on Thursday, February 9th, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Green Acres Baptist Church, located at 1607 Troup Highway in Tyler.

Last week’s winter storm caused widespread power outages and damage, with Smith County being part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s disaster declaration.
“Many of our neighbors had to throw away all of their refrigerated food after being without power for days and with so many people struggling to make ends meet, we knew we wanted to help,” said Dennis Cullinane, CEO of the East Texas Food Bank. “We are also grateful for our partnership with Green Acres Baptist Church and allowing us to use their facility for our distributions.”

The boxes will contain shelf-stable food including cans of food and personal hygiene items. Meat will also be distributed.

This distribution is open to the public while supplies last. No ID or paperwork is required.

Please enter through the Troup Highway Side of GABC and do not arrive until after 8 a.m. as we will not have staff on site until then to set-up the distribution lines.

Volunteers are needed to help. Please visit our website, EastTexasFoodBank.org and click on Volunteers and mobile pantry and find this event to sign-up.

To find other distribution locations and food pantries throughout our 26-county service area, visit EastTexasFoodBank.org and click “Find Food”.