On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina opened the floodgates on a new era of natural disasters. While Katrina was uniquely catastrophic, each year, many lesser, albeit frequent, disasters can and do cause death or injury, wreck personal property, cut access to financial resources, break off links to human services programs, interrupt employment, or result in sudden medical expenses. Any of these misfortunes may precipitate a crisis for communities with low incomes.
Advocates, agency workers, public officials, businesspeople, and individuals should be aware of the potential for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other federal nutrition benefits to expedite and strengthen the response to disasters of various types. In the aftermath of a disaster, there is usually a need for new and urgent assistance for households with low incomes.
FRAC’s Guide to Federal Nutrition Programs During Disasters – updated in September 2024 – explains how federal nutrition programs work during disasters and what advocates, elected officials, and programs service providers can do to help meet nutrition needs before, during, and after a disaster.