The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a temporary waiver on Wednesday that will allow food stamp program participants in Hawaii to buy hot foods with their benefits through Sept. 14.
Under normal circumstances, hot foods cannot be bought using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. However, many residents who evacuated to shelters amid multiple wildfires on Maui cannot store food and lack access to cooking facilities as a result, the USDA pointed out in a news release Wednesday. SNAP authorized retailers have been notified of the approval, the USDA said.
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services is ready to consider additional waivers that may be needed to help program participants who have lost food due to the disaster and to simplify the application process for affected households, upon request from the Hawaii Department of Human Services.
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