TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — One by one, cars funneled into parking lots at Raymond James Stadium Saturday.
It was a big turnout on a chilly morning in Tampa.
Hillsborough County resident Carlos Diaz woke up at 4:40 a.m.
It was an early start for the thousands of people in the county who took advantage of the last day to apply for the benefits being given out through the Florida Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or D-SNAP.
“A lot of food that we lost, our power went out, we didn’t have power for three days, a lot of food we had to throw out,” Diaz said.
To qualify, residents must bring photo identification and undergo an interview proving they were impacted by Hurricane Ian.
“You finally get to one lady who asks you a bunch of questions about how was it when the disaster [happened] and how much you had at the time of the disaster,” Hillsborough County resident Andrea Smith said.
Then, they handed her a paper with information and an EBT card saying it should have money on it soon.
“You have to wait three days before it gets on your card, and then you have 90 days to use it,” she said.
It’s the Department of Children and Families’ effort to help hurricane victims not just here in our area, but statewide.
They will be in DeSoto County Sunday through Tuesday.
That event will be held at the DeSoto County Fairgrounds from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
