Hoosiers affected by flooding can apply for emergency assistance.

How to apply for disaster relief

Indiana’s State Disaster Relief Fund can provide up to $5,000 for displaced families who need help with food, clothing, home repairs, utilities, temporary housing and transportation. Call 211 or apply online. To qualify, you must share a description of damages, the anticipated dollar amount needed for assistance and information about any insurance you have for your home, rentals or flooding coverage.

Navigating SNAP benefits

People who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can also apply for emergency refunds. If you lost food purchased with SNAP benefits due to flooding or power outages, you can submit a form to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. Upload it to your portal or drop it off at a nearby Indiana Division of Family Resources office.

You have ten days from the disaster event to report lost food, said Emily Weikert Bryant, the executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, a state association representing 11 food banks. To qualify for replacement benefits for refrigerated or frozen food, your power had to be out for more than four hours. Any food touched by floodwaters, including dry or canned goods, is covered. The value of what was lost can be added back to your benefits card.

People must complete an interview with Indiana’s DFR to verify the lost benefits and replace them, Weikert Bryant said. Keep your phone on so you don’t miss their call. You can check your benefit card’s current balance at ConnectEBT.com.

More food assistance

If you need immediate food assistance, use Mirror Indy’s guide for flood relief resources. You can also find a list of local food banks and pantries on the Community Compass app.

This article first appeared on FPI News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.