Articles

Perdue urged to approve D-SNAP

Florida Politics / April 7, 2020

Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson, joined by all of the delegation Democrats, is seeking enhanced assistance for their constituents impacted by COVID-19. The members wrote to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, urging him to approve the State of Florida's request to implement the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP).

D-SNAP allows people who have been impacted by a disaster, but would not typically be eligible for SNAP benefits, to receive aid. Additionally, current SNAP recipients would see an increase in their supplemental benefits to the maximum amount for their household size.

Frederica Wilson is urging U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to enact the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program.

"The actual number of people seeking benefits is potentially higher given how overwhelmed the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is due to high call volume and website traffic," the letter said. "Sadly, the number of people needing assistance will increase significantly as the virus continues to spread, and businesses are forced to close their doors."

On March 22, Gov. DeSantis also sent a letter to the administration requesting an emergency declaration for the state of Florida, which was granted and the activation of D-SNAP. Unemployment is surging in Florida as well as the rest of the country.

"Even in the best of times, it is often a struggle for many families to put food on the table," said Wilson. "In the midst of this crisis, many Floridians who have been laid off or had to cover unexpected COVID-19-related expenses don't know where to turn to get their next meal. D-SNAP could make all the difference for struggling families and I hope that USDA acts swiftly to approve this much-needed aid."

In addition to Wilson's fellow Democrats, Sen. Rubio and Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Hialeah signed the letter.