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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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USDA Temporarily Expands Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance
USAgNet - 02/21/2018
Puerto Rico residents continuing to recover from the impacts of recent hurricanes could be eligible for increased nutrition assistance, thanks to a grant from the USDA. This temporary assistance will be distributed through the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance
Program, beginning March 1. NAP is administered by the USDA and is operated by the Puerto Rico Department of the Family.
The grant was made possible by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017, and delivers an additional $1.27 billion. These funds will allow Puerto Rico to expand assistance to additional households, and increase the
benefit amount for current and new participants on a temporary basis. The new maximum allotment for a family of four will be $649.
"The people of Puerto Rico still face immense challenges, as the island recovers from multiple hurricanes," said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. "This grant fulfills the Administration's pledge to support the recovery and our commitment to ensuring that
residents of Puerto Rico get the vital nutrition assistance they need to move forward."
NAP in Puerto Rico is a different program than the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) operated in the 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. NAP is a block grant with a set amount of funding annually and the
program must operate within that amount. This supplemental funding is intended to augment the assistance available through NAP. This grant specifically recognizes the sustained economic disruption faced by the island. As they recover from back-to-back
disasters, these funds will help low-income Puerto Rico residents put food on the table.
Through the grant, Puerto Rico has the flexibility to create a plan to provide temporary benefits for victims of the hurricanes in a way that best suits their population and the ongoing needs on the island. In developing this plan, the Commonwealth considered
existing program structure and available resources to ensure benefits are provided to those in need while maintaining customer service and program integrity. Throughout this process, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is responsible for providing
technical expertise and guidance to ensure compliance with the law.
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