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The AG may be eligible for a replacement issuance provided in the amount of the loss, up to a maximum of one month’s allotment, unless the issuance included restored benefits, which shall be replaced up to their full value.

To qualify for a replacement the AG must report the destruction to the Local Office within 10 days of the incident and sign an Affidavit for Replacement of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program form attesting to the destruction of the AG’s food. If mailed, the Affidavit for Replacement must be sent to the client within one business day of the client’s report of food loss due to the household misfortune. If the Affidavit for Replacement is not returned within 12 days of mailing, no replacement shall be made.

A replacement shall be considered invalid if it is processed without having a properly completed Affidavit for Replacement.

Upon receiving an Affidavit for Replacement, the Local Office must: • Speak personally with the client regarding the nature of the misfortune and the amount of the loss. If the client submits the affidavit in person, the client should be interviewed at that time, if the client submits the affidavit via fax or mail, the client must be contacted via telephone to discuss the nature of misfortune and the amount of the loss. In order to help the client, determine the amount of SNAP lost, verify the amount of benefits which have been spent since the last allotment via the EBT system. • Verify the misfortune through a collateral contact. • If loss is due to a power outage, verification must be obtained that the power outage was a minimum of 4 hours. Outages lasting less than 4 hours do not qualify for a replacement. If a loss (including a power outage) is verified via collateral contact, the name and telephone number of the individual providing the verification must be documented in case notes.

If loss is due to a power outage, discuss with client what amount of food was refrigerated/frozen and was therefore lost. Food items unaffected by the power outage (dry goods, canned goods, etc.) are not eligible for replacement.

There is no limit to the number of replacement issuance for food purchased with SNAP benefits which was destroyed in an AG misfortune; however, each replacement must be validated individually and per policy.

The replacement issuance shall be provided to the AG within 10 days after the report of the loss or within two working days of receiving the Affidavit for Replacement, whichever date is later.

When the request for a replacement for food lost in a misfortune is approved or denied, a manual notice must be sent to the Assistance Group.

When a major disaster occurs affecting an extended area, the State may implement a State Disaster SNAP Program. Under these circumstances a household may receive both a replacement and disaster benefits. Instructions will always be sent from Central Office when a Disaster Program is operational.