DES MOINES, Iowa — Derecho victims in five additional counties are eligible to apply for food assistance, Iowa DHS announced Friday.
Those living in Benton, Cedar, Marshall, Scott, and Tama Counties can apply through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP).
People living in Boone, Jasper, Polk, Poweshiek and Story Counties can already apply.
The application window lasts through Sunday.
Next week, people living in five other counties will be able to apply. Those counties are Marshall, Scott, Benton, Cedar and Tama.
You have to sign up for this program in person. You can’t apply online or over the phone.
If you miss the sign-up window, there’s not another way to apply.
To be eligible, you must have been impacted by the derecho or the power outages that followed and meet income eligibility requirements.
If you have any questions about whether you meet those requirements, the state urges you to come out to a sign-up site to find out.
If you’re approved, you’ll leave the building with an actual card loaded with money. That card can be used to purchase food.
If you were receiving food assistance or SNAP benefits when the derecho hit Aug. 10, you aren’t eligible for the D-SNAP benefits.
You’ll need to bring identification with you when you apply.
Citizenship isn’t a requirement to apply.