Florida Department of Children and Families: Food for Florida

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, South Florida has proclaimed itself as a presidentially-declared disaster area. With the approval of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Nutrition Services took lead in the program: Food for Florida.

The Food for Florida program, which is also under the name: Florida’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP), supplies emergency food benefits to victims of hurricanes or other types of disasters. Specifically, the program can only be initiated in sections of Florida which have been presidentially-declared as a disaster area. With the approval of the U.S Department of Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition Services (FNS)— people must be confirmed for need of ‘individual assistance’. Individual assistance implies that an individual or a family who have been personally impacted by a natural disaster.

Food for Florida provides benefits to these applicants who were not receiving food benefits through the regular SNAP. There are several income and asset requirements to be provided aid from D-SNAP. To mention a few: applicants must have been living in the declared disaster area at the time of the disaster, have sustained damage to their household, have lost or inaccessible income, and more the like. If eligible, recipients will then receive disaster food assistance benefits, which would be accessed using an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card.

YML Cleaning and Event Services was selected by the Department of Children and Families to service the programs that took place in several locations in South Florida. This included Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah, Florida, Tropical Park in Miami, Florida, South Government Center and the Magic City Casino site in Miami, Florida.

Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma had done a significant amount of damage to a grand populous of the South Floridians.  In order to assist, YML Cleaning and Event Services provided over 30 employees across several days of the aid events. These events had lined up tents and were staffed by the Florida Department of Children and Families. Thousands of those affected gathered at the various sites to gain and apply for assistance— the process lasting hours to even a whole day. The lines were seemingly endless as they stretched out for blocks upon blocks and YML kept these areas spotless in our attempt to replace some order to the chaos of Hurricane Irma.

We extend a thank you to the Florida Department of Children and Families for placing their trust in our services and for allowing us to be part of this event. We also would like to send our regard to the individuals and families who have been affected both emotionally and physically by this natural disaster.