The Department of Children and Families (DCF), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will implement the Food for Florida Disaster Food Assistance Program in Alachua County at the Alachua County Fairgrounds (3100 N.E. 39th Ave., Gainesville, FL 32609) to assist individuals and families impacted by Hurricane Irma from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., on October 1, to October 4, 2017. Individuals interested in this program are asked to visit the Alachua County Fairgrounds on the date corresponding with the first letter of their last name. This program is not first come, first serve. Everyone’s application will be taken and processed on the appropriate day.
The schedule for Alachua County, based on last names, is as follows:
October 1: A-F
October 2: G-J
October 3: K-O
October 4: P-Z
To qualify for the Food for Florida Disaster Food Assistance program, applicants must have lived or worked in one of the counties declared for FEMA Individual Assistance on September 5, and not be receiving food assistance through the regular Food Assistance Program. Additionally, eligible individuals and families must have suffered a disaster-related loss, such as damage to their homes or self-employment property, loss of food, reduction or loss of income, or have incurred other disaster-related expenses. DCF will provide or mail Electronic Benefits Transfer cards to eligible individuals and families to use at authorized USDA food retailers. The program counts only income and expenses from September 5 through October 4, 2017.
Individuals and authorized representatives are strongly encouraged to pre-register online. Pre-registration is a brief application process that adds your information to the system in advance of your local site visit. Pre-registering on the day before visiting your local Food for Florida site will allow for faster processing of your application on-site.
One EBT card per eligible household will be issued, so only the applicant needs to visit the local Food for Florida site in person. Additional individuals attending may contribute to longer lines and extended service times.
To make your visit to your local Food for Florida site as convenient as possible, remember these important items:
- Fill out the initial application the day before visiting your local site via this pre-registration link.
- Only one applicant needs to visit the site in person as only one EBT card will be issued per eligible household
- Visit the local site on the indicated date for your last name
- Current food assistance participants should not visit the local Food for Florida site or pre-register; additional September/October benefits will be added to your EBT card within five days of Alachua County’s Food for Florida site opening.
For more information, visit the Food for Florida website.