If you were getting SNAP before the disaster, please see our “Replacing SNAP (Food Stamps) and your EBT Card in a Natural Disaster” article. If you were not getting SNAP before the disaster, you still may be able to get help with getting food through a DHHR program called D-SNAP.

D-SNAP (or Disaster Food Stamps) helps people who did not get SNAP before the disaster who went through disaster-related changes. The kinds of changes that qualify you for D-SNAP are things like (1) you cannot get money out of your checking or savings account; (2) you have a lot of disaster expenses; or (3) you lost your income or had it go down due to the disaster. There could be other changes that DHHR would consider as well.

Whether or not you can get D-SNAP is based on your household’s net income. To get your net income, you add up your take home wages, cash on hand and accessible bank accounts and then you subtract unreimbursed disaster expenses. For D-SNAP, assets such as homes and cars do not count against you.

You have to live in counties that were declared a natural disaster.

You can apply at your local DHHR office.

If you have them, bring: photo proof of ID such as a driver’s license or other picture ID, proof that you lived in the county at the time of the disaster, proof of all income you got during the disaster, proof of assets such as checking and savings accounts, and proof of all disaster expenses.

There are deadlines for applying after a disaster.  As natural disasters occur, we will update important deadlines and information.

If you are denied, you have the right to request a Fair Hearing with DHHR’s “WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES (WV DHHR) PRE-HEARING CONFERENCE AND/OR FAIR HEARING REQUEST FORM.”