BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Health has announced that federal approval has been granted for Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for households affected by Tropical Storm Arthur.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Administration approved the D-SNAP benefits as well as automatic supplemental SNAP benefits for eligible current SNAP recipients.

D-SNAP provides temporary food assistance to households that do not normally receive SNAP benefits but experienced disaster-related losses from Tropical Storm Arthur and meet income eligibility thresholds. Eligible disaster areas include portions of Avoyelles, St. Landry, St. Tammany and Terrebonne parishes.

"Recovering from a disaster doesn't end when the storm passes," said LDH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein. "As families continue rebuilding their lives, these temporary food assistance programs help meet an essential need."

"Through D-SNAP and automatic supplemental benefits for eligible SNAP recipients, we're making it easier for eligible households to access the support available to them," Greenstein said.

To determine eligibility, the Louisiana Department of Health will review household income and disaster-related expenses paid during the disaster period of June 17 through July 16.

Because eligibility is based on designated census tracts and not entire parishes, not everyone living in an eligible parish will qualify. Residents can use an online eligibility map and address lookup tool at D-SNAP Eligible Zip Codes and Census Tracts to check whether their address falls within an eligible area before applying.

In Avoyelles Parish, the eligible area covers ZIP code 71362 and areas generally along LA 1 from Simmesport to Mansura, south of Marksville to the St. Landry Parish line and west of Marksville to the Rapides Parish line.

In St. Landry Parish, eligible areas are generally north of U.S. 190, east of Bayou Teche, west of LA 359 to the Pointe Coupee Parish line and north of Lebeau east of U.S. 71.

In Terrebonne Parish, eligible portions include Gray, Schriever, Bayou Cane, eastern Houma, Bayou Blue, Bourg, Dulac, Theriot and Montegut. In St. Tammany Parish, eligible ZIP codes are 70452, 70458, 70460 and 70461.

Applications will be accepted July 27 through July 31 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. by calling 1-888-524-3578.

Residents should apply based on the first letter of the primary applicant's last name. Last names beginning with A through G should apply July 27, H through M on July 28 and N through Z on July 29. All applicants may apply July 30 and July 31.

Most applicants will learn whether they are approved during the interview. Approved households will receive an Electronic Benefit Transfer card by mail.

Current SNAP recipients should not apply for D-SNAP. Households in eligible census tracts that already receive SNAP benefits and are not at the maximum monthly allotment will automatically receive a supplemental benefit to bring them to that maximum for one month, with no application required.

Benefits must be used within 90 days of issuance. Any unused benefits remaining after 90 days will be removed from the EBT card.