An orange traffic cone with caution tape in front of fallen trees after the Aug. 6 storm.
Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland / Signal Cleveland

Most SNAP recipients in Cuyahoga County will automatically receive benefits to replace perishable food lost during the recent power outage. The amount of replacement benefits will be a portion of each recipient’s monthly allotment, depending on when they were received.

If benefits were received between July 30 and Aug. 6 (the day storms knocked out power for many Greater Clevelanders), the replacement benefits will equal 60% of the monthly allotment. 

  • Between July 22 and July 29: 45%. 
  • Between July 14 and July 21: 30%. 
  • Between July 7 and July 13: 15%.

The automatic replacement benefits will be sent to recipients living in these 52 ZIP codes:

The automatic replacement was made possible by a federal waiver granted to counties affected by the Aug. 6 storm. Cuyahoga Job and Family Services (CJFS) worked with the State of Ohio, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services and Northeast Ohio utility companies to obtain the waiver.

“We are grateful this waiver has been granted for our residents,” said Cuyahoga Job and Family Services Director Kevin Gowan in a statement. “Many Cuyahoga County residents were without power for days, and lost refrigerators and freezers full of perishable foods. This waiver allows almost all SNAP recipients to receive replacement benefits quickly and efficiently.”

SNAP recipients whose food losses were greater than the amount of the automatic replacement have until Sept. 5 to report the loss to CJFS. You must print and fill out ODJFS Form 07222: Statement Requesting Replacement of SNAP Benefits and mail it to: Cuyahoga Job and Family Services, 1641 Payne Ave., Cleveland, OH 44114, or email it to [email protected].

People who don’t live in one of the ZIP codes eligible for the automatic replacement, and who lost food due to a power outage of at least four hours, can also apply using the instructions above.

For people who have already submitted a replacement request form, the county will still review it. If it turns out losses claimed are greater than the automatic replacement benefits, it may result in additional benefits.

Additional county resources for residents related to the storms are available here. 

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Important stories are hiding everywhere, and my favorite part of journalism has always been the collaboration, working with colleagues to find the patterns in the information we’re constantly gathering. I don’t care whose name appears in the byline; the work is its own reward. As Batman said to Commissioner Gordon in “The Dark Knight,” “I’m whatever Gotham needs me to be.”