Department of Human Services

For Immediate Release
September 13, 2023

(Click here for the D-SNAP  2-page flyer)

(Click here for the D-SNAP Translated 2-page flyers)

*Please note the corrections/updates underlined below*

Hawai‘i Disaster SNAP Program Launches Monday, September 18, 2023

HONOLULU —The Hawai‘i Department of Human Services (DHS) will launch the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) on Monday, September 18, 2023, through Saturday, September 23, 2023, for households directly impacted by the Maui wildfires in Kula (96790) and Lāhainā (96761, 96767) on August 8, 2023.

Approximately 16,000 households that may not normally be eligible under regular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rules may qualify for D-SNAP.

“DHS has been working closely with our federal and community partners to provide disaster relief and food support through our programs,” said DHS Director Cathy Betts. “D-SNAP is an important program that will help those impacted by the recent wildfires on their road to recovery, ensuring they have food on the table.”

 

What are the general requirements for D-SNAP?
To qualify for D-SNAP, a household either residing or employed in the impacted area at the time of the event must have directly experienced loss of housing, loss of employment, incurred disaster-related expenses, or food loss due to the Maui wildfires.  In addition, households will need to meet disaster gross income limits and have qualifying disaster-related expenses.

What else may be required?
D-SNAP applicants are required to provide proof of identity. If a D-SNAP applicant does not have proof of their identity, they may apply for D-SNAP, but benefits will be delayed until proof of identity is provided. Proof of identity may include:

• Photo ID
• Two documents that verify identity and residency.
• A signed affidavit from a collateral contact attesting to the identity of the applicant, where other sources of identity are not available.

What is the Disaster Gross Income Limit (DGIL) for Hawai‘i, and what is the D-SNAP benefit for which a household may qualify?
Below is an income table showing the DGIL and D-SNAP benefit available based on household size. Eligible households will receive one month of benefits, equivalent to the maximum amount of benefits normally issued to a SNAP household of its size.

Benefits are issued via an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card, which can be used to purchase food at food retailers that accept EBT.

Household Size	Income Limit	D-SNAP Benefit
1	$2,415	$538
2	$2,867	$987
3	$3,320	$1,413
4	$3,772	$1,794
5	$4,225	$2,131
6	$4,701	$2,557
7	$5,154	$2,826
8	$5,606	$3,230
Each Additional Member	+$453	+$404

What counts as disaster-related expenses?  Disaster-related expenses are expenses the applicant experienced from the effects of the Kula and Lāhainā wildfires, such as damage to, or destruction of a household. When applying, applicants will be asked to self-attest that that all expenses are accurate and disaster-related. Below is a list of common expenses:

• Home and business repairs and property protection
• Temporary shelter and evacuation expenses
• Disaster-related funeral, pet boarding, and medical expenses
• Replacement of necessary personal items, such as clothing, appliances, tools, and educational materials
• Clean-up expenses, and storage expenses.
• Food loss

Where can residents apply for D-SNAP?
Residents can apply at the following D-SNAP application sites. D-SNAP application sites are located on the islands of Maui, O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, Moloka‘i, and on Hawai‘i Island with one location each in East Hawai‘i and West Hawai‘i.

Applications will be scheduled by alphabet based on the first letter of the applicant’s last name.

Island	Location	D-SNAP Hours of Operation
Maui	Hyatt Regency Maui Resort (200 Nohea Kai Drive  Lāhainā)	Monday (9/18/23) – Saturday (9/23/23): 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
O‘ahu	OR&L Processing Center (333 N. King Street, Rm. 200  Honolulu)	Monday (9/18/23) – Friday (9/22/23): 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Kaua‘i	Kaua‘i Processing Center (3059 Umi Street, Ste. 110  Līhu‘e)
Moloka‘i	Moloka‘i Processing Center (55 Makaena Place, Rm. 1 Kaunakakai)
Lāna‘i	Lāna‘i Processing Center (730 Lāna‘i Avenue, Lāna‘i City)
Hawai‘i Island	South Hilo Processing Center (1990 Kino‘ole St., Ste. 108, Hilo)
	West Hawai‘i Processing Center – North Kona Office (75-5722 Hanama Place, Ste. 1105, Kailua-Kona)

 

The dates by letter of last name are listed below.

For the Maui D-SNAP Application Sites:

Date	First Letter of Last Name
Monday, September 18, 2023	A-J
Tuesday, September 19, 2023	Ka-Ke
Wednesday, September 20, 2023	Ke-Ku
Thursday, September 21, 2023	L-P
Friday, September 22, 2023	Q-Z
Saturday, September 23, 2023	Overflow for those who missed assigned days.

 

For all other D-SNAP Application Sites on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i and Hawai‘i Island:

Date	First Letter of Last Name
Monday, September 18, 2023	A-J
Tuesday, September 19, 2023	K
Wednesday, September 20, 2023	L-P
Thursday, September 21, 2023	Q-Z
Friday, September 22, 2023	Overflow for those who missed assigned days.

Other important considerations.
Households already on SNAP at the time of the wildfires are not eligible for D-SNAP, however, SNAP households in Kula (96790) and Lāhainā (96761, 96767) will be receiving a supplemental SNAP benefit issued to their EBT account to bring their monthly benefit to the maximum SNAP benefit amount based on their household size. 

This means that existing SNAP households will automatically be eligible for the  supplemental benefit scheduled to be issued by 9/20/23 and will not need to apply in person.

Disaster related assistance from either governmental and/or nongovernmental organizations, such as FEMA, the Maui United Way, or People’s Fund of Maui will not be counted against D-SNAP applicants.

If awarded, households will receive one month’s worth of D-SNAP benefits.

Self-attestation provided to DHS in order to apply for D-SNAP benefits is subject to audit procedures required by USDA Food and Nutrition Services (FNS).

For additional questions, households may contact the DHS Public Assistance Information System phone line at 1-855-643-1643,or visit https://humanservices.hawaii.gov/.

 

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Media Contact:
State of Hawai‘i Department of Human Services
Amanda Stevens – Public Information Officer
[email protected]