Kentuckians that have received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits who lost food due to the recent storms and tornadoes that devastated Western Kentucky can request benefit replacements and use benefits to purchase hot food.Current SNAP beneficiaries can call the Department of Community Based Services at 855-306-8959 or visit their county's DCBS office to request replacements. These benefits are available through a waiver approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. Replacements can be requested until Jan. 8, 2022.A second waiver that was approved on Dec. 23, provides automatic replacements of December benefits to some residents of Mayfield, Dawson Springs, Auburn, Pembroke, Warren and Hickman Counties. This replacement applies to households that received their benefits prior to the storms. SNAP households not covered by this automatic replacement will need to call DCBS to request a replacement. A third waiver allows the purchase of hot food from authorized SNAP retailers with their benefits. Kentuckians residing in the following counties may make hot food purchases through Jan. 17, 2022: Adair, Allen, Barren, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Casey, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Edmonson, Fulton, Graves, Green, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Hickman, Hopkins, Larue, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McClean, McCracken, Metcalfe, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Simpson, Taylor, Todd, Trigg, Warren and Webster. USDA emphasized the importance of the waiver, noting that many Kentucky residents evacuated to shelters, cannot store food, and lack access to cooking facilities as a result.Gov. Andy Beshear said on Tuesday, "Kentuckians have suffered terribly from these historic storms and we are thankful that these additional food benefits are available to help nourish those in need."The governor urged those affected by the storms to visit governor.ky.gov/tornado resources to learn more about the food benefits and other resources for storm survivors."We are grateful for these waivers to help Kentuckians whose homes and property were damaged or destroyed by this historic storm," Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander said. "It's reassuring to know that storm victims can receive these essential benefits.""The approved Hot Foods waiver will help Kentuckians receive increased access to hot meals for themselves and their families," said USDA Southeast Regional Administrator Willie C. Taylor. "This waiver is a vital step to keep SNAP participants healthy and moving forward as they recover from the recent tornado storm damage."Under normal circumstances, hot foods cannot be bought using SNAP benefits. SNAP authorized retailers have been notified of the approval. Retailers in the state may need as much as 24 to 36 hours to make changes that will allow the sale of hot foods, and where practical, customers may remain on the premises to consume those foods.USDA's Food and Nutrition Service 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 DCBS.Kentuckians who believe they may be eligible to receive SNAP benefits should call the DCBS call center at 1-855-306-8959 or click here to apply. Applications may also be made at local DCBS offices.Residents and business owners who sustained losses in disaster designated counties can apply for other types of assistance by registering online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week until further notice.For more information about applying for benefits or finding community resources, please visit kynect.

After a massive tornado ripped through some Dawson Springs, Kentucky, neighborhoods, there are some who have almost nothing left and some who have even less.“The wind picked up really fast and the rain hit really hard,” Amanda Blades said.She said by the time she knew the storm was trouble, it was too late.“We’re going to hurry up and get the kids, and by the time we were gathering up the kids to get in the hallway, all of the windows broke, and we all got thrown in different places,” Blades said. The walls of her home exploded. She and her three children were blown out of the house and into the backyard. Her husband was pinned in the house.All of the family survived. One of the children had a fractured vertebra. Blades had stitches in her head and lots of cuts and bruises.In some places, there was only broken lumber left where a home had been. In other places, there was just a foundation, not even a board left behind.The power of the wind could be seen in a limb that was stuck through the entire width of a truck tire like a javelin.The same winds hit John Adams' house.“I could hear the nails pulling out of the walls, the roof flying off my house,” Adams said.Adam’s house blew apart, but he crawled out of the rubble and ran to his elderly next-door neighbor’s house because she thought she might need help. When he got there, nothing was left. “The whole house was gone,” pointing about eight feet up in a nearby tree Adams said. “That’s the refrigerator in the tree there.”Adams said his neighbor did not survive.Power crews are on almost every street. They’re not just restoring power. They’re going to basically rewire the entire grid in some places. Every pole is down.One crew member said it could take months to get power to every home.