If you’re having trouble getting or paying for food, here are some programs that might help. Please scroll down for more information.
Note: Because of COVID-19 some of these programs have changed some rules and how the programs work to support social distancing and help low-income people get the food they need.
|
SNAP (also known as “food stamps”) |
Grab and Go meals at schools and other locations (see below) | WIC (see below) |
Other programs (see below) |
|
| I lost my job or my hours were reduced because of COVID-19
|
√ |
√ |
||
|
I have children under 18 years old in my household
|
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
| I’m pregnant or I am a mom with a child under 5 years old.
|
√ |
√ |
√ |
No. While DSNAP was provided after previous federal disaster declarations, DSNAP has not been provided for this one. Instead, changes have been made to regular SNAP. For information on regular SNAP as affected by Covid, go to https://slls.org/snap/.
Most schools and some other organizations are providing free meals for children under 18 years old. For most programs, a guardian over 18 years old can pick up the meals. Children do not need to be physically present.
You can find information about grab and go meals from schools here: https://cnp.doe.louisiana.gov/ServingSites/.
If you’re in Baton Rouge, you can get more information at https://www.brla.gov/2163/Free-Meal-Pickup-Sites-for-Children
If you’re in New Orleans, you can get more information at https://ready.nola.gov/home/#food
To find more Grab and Go locations, call 211.
WIC supports pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children (under 5 years old). WIC provides a card to buy specific nutritious foods, nutrition information, breastfeeding promotion, breastfeeding support and referrals to other health and social services.
Most WIC clinics are still open. Due to current COVID-19 precautions, LA WIC clinics are allowing participants and/or caregivers to stay in their vehicles for appointments. Your information will be collected over the phone and a member of the staff will come out to your vehicle. Please bring your ID, WIC card (if you already have one), and all other required documents with you.
Visit http://ldh.la.gov/index.cfm/page/987 for more updated information about WIC during COVID-19.
Call 1.800.251.BABY to apply or to get more information.
During COVID-19 many local governments, nonprofit organizations, and businesses have programs to help people access the food they need. These include food pantries, other “grab and go” meal pick-up sites, and food delivery for seniors and people with disabilities.
Call 211 to find out about other programs that are available.
If you’re in the New Orleans or Baton Rouge regions and you need emergency food assistance, call 311.
If you’re in New Orleans, you also can visit: https://ready.nola.gov/home/#food
Paul Tuttle, Director of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, discusses Coronavirus/Covid-19 related tax issues and also avoiding common tax scams.
https://www.facebook.com/SLLSHelps/videos/216315816382181/
Yes, the VA is still accepting and processing benefit applications. You can file an application by calling 1-800-827-1000. You can also file online at these websites:
Yes. The VA is still reviewing applications. It will make a decision with the information that it has if it can. But, it is still scheduling appointments for Compensation & Pension exams whenever possible either in person or via telehealth. It is very important that you attend any exam the VA schedules for you.
Yes. The VA continues to deliver VA benefits and services to veterans, their families, and survivors. If you did not receive your monthly check, call the Regional Office at 1-800-827-1000 to find out why. If you cannot get in touch with someone, or if the VA tells you that you will no longer get your monthly check for any reason, you can apply for free legal help from Southeast Louisiana Legal Services by calling our COVID-19 Legal Helpline at 1-844-244-7871 or you can apply online at https://lastate.kempscaseworks.com/server/shared/a2jviewer.htm.
No. The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Regional Offices are closed to the public. They will not provide any in-person services including walk-in claims assistance, scheduled appointments, or counseling. Veterans can continue to get information about their benefits or application status by calling 1-800-827-1000.
Yes. Student veterans will continue to receive their GI Bill benefits. The VA continues to provide the same level of education benefits to students who have to take courses online due to the COVID-19 crisis. Students will receive the same monthly housing allowance payments they received for resident training. They will receive this housing allowance until 12/21/2020 or until the school resumes in-person classes, whichever is first.
It depends. If you lost your job due to COVID-19, the debt management office can suspend collection of the debt for 60 days. Call them at 1-800-827-0648 to tell them about your situation about how COVID-19 is impacting you.
No. All deductions for debts related to co-pays until September 21, 2020 have been suspended
Yes, but expect a delay in processing of your application. All local Social Security offices will be closed to the public for in-person service. You can apply by phone or online.
To apply by phone for any of these programs, you can call 1-800-772-1213. But, expect to wait on the phone for a long time because of large call volumes.
You can apply online for Social Security Disability and Retirement benefits ONLY.
If you get busy signals or run into an internet problem, consider trying at times when fewer people might be doing so.
Social Security is prioritizing work on the following types of applications:
Social Security sometimes wants a doctor to evaluate you before it decides if you qualify for benefits. If Social Security decides it needs to schedule an appointment for a doctor to evaluate you, then your application might be delayed further.
Yes. But, as stated above, expect a delay in processing your application. If you are homeless or become homeless, or if you have a medical condition that has become terminal, or a medical condition that fits into one of Social Security’s other high priority groups, call your local Social Security field office to let them know. This could speed up how quickly Social Security processes your application.
No. Your application date can affect whether your application is approved or denied. If you wait to file your application, you might be ineligible once Social Security considers your application. Also, your application date can affect how much money you are paid, and when you might qualify for Medicaid or Medicare. So, if you wait to file your application, even if your application is eventually approved, you could get less money and miss out on months of health care coverage.
Maybe. Social Security will call you or your representative, if you have one, to ask you whether you want to have your hearing by phone. If you want to have an in-person hearing, you should tell them that you do not want to have your hearing by phone, and you want to postpone your hearing. If you do not receive a call about your hearing, you should call your local office.
The numbers for the local Hearing Offices (Administrative Law Judges) in our area are:
If you have a hearing at a Field Office, visit https://www.ssa.gov/locator/ to find the phone number for your field office.
You can appeal most decisions online at https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/appeal.html. You can also appeal by calling 1-800-772-1213. If you miss your appeal deadline because you cannot reach Social Security by internet or phone, you should still file your appeal as soon as you can and ask Social Security to accept your appeal because you had “good cause for filing it late” because you could not get through to the Social Security office earlier.
If you received a denial from the Social Security Appeals Council, then you cannot file your appeal online with Social Security. To appeal a decision from the Appeals Council, you have to file a lawsuit in Federal District Court. If you want to appeal an Appeals Council decision, we highly recommend you consult an attorney experienced in Social Security law.
Yes. If you already receive SSI, Social Security Disability, Survivor’s Benefits, or Retirement Benefits, you should continue to get your monthly check. This is true whether it comes by Direct Deposit to your bank account, by Direct Express card, or by paper check mailed to your house.
If you don’t receive your monthly check, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to find out why. If you cannot get in touch with Social Security, if no one calls you back after three days, or if someone at Social Security tells you that you will no longer receive your monthly check for any reason, you can apply for free legal help from Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. Because of COVID-19, our offices are closed to the public. You can apply for services by applying online at www.slls.org or by calling our COVID-19 Legal Helpline at 1-844-244-7871.
No, you do not have to for now. Social Security is not starting or completing any Continuing Disability Reviews at this time.
However, if you have your medical information and you have a way of mailing it to Social Security AND a way of keeping a copy of what you send for yourself, you should send them to the Social Security office that is processing your case. Likewise, if you can fill out the reports they sent you and you have a way of sending the reports AND keeping a copy of what you send for yourself, you should send them to the Social Security office that is processing your case.
Maybe. Social Security has suspended processing and collecting most new overpayments. However, if your check was already being reduced to pay back an overpayment to Social Security, your check will continue to be reduced.
You have two choices. You can ask Social Security to waive the debt or you can ask for Social Security to change your payment plan so that you don’t have to pay as much each month. To qualify for a waiver, you have to show that the overpayment was not your fault and that you need the income and resources you have to pay your ordinary living expenses. You can request a waiver or a change to your repayment plan by phone or by mail.
To apply by phone, call your local Social Security field office. Visit https://www.ssa.gov/locator/ to find the phone number for the Social Security field office nearest you.
To request a waiver by mail, you need to fill out this form: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-632-bk.pdf
To ask Social Security to change your repayment plan by mail, you need to fill out this form: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-634.pdf
After you complete the form, mail your form and any attachments the form says you should attach and mail it to your Social Security field office. Do not mail original copies of any of your attachments. Keep a copy of the form and all of the attachments you mailed. Visit https://www.ssa.gov/locator/ to find the mailing address for the Social Security field office nearest you.
No. Social Security has extended deadlines to provide documents or other information it asked you to send in. You can contact Social Security once the offices reopen or, if you know what documents they want you to submit and know where to send them, you can mail documents to them. However, you should keep copies of any documents you mail to Social Security, just in case they are misplaced or lost.
Beware! This letter is a fraudulent letter. You should report the scam at https://oig.ssa.gov. Social Security will never:
You can visit: https://www.ssa.gov/coronavirus/ for further updates from the Social Security Administration
If you currently have Louisiana Medicaid, it will not be cut off during the Covid-19 crisis unless you move out of Louisiana, you ask for your Medicaid to be shut off, or you have only “Presumptive Eligibility” (discussed below). Please come back to this page in the future for more information. No Louisiana Medicaid should have been cut off after March 18. If you have been cut off since March 18, your Medicaid should get turned back on by the agency.
Even if your notice was sent in February or before March 19, 2020, your Medicaid should not be cut off after March 18 through the end of the Covid-19 crisis. The scheduled date of the cut off is called the “effective date” on the notice you received saying that your Medicaid benefits were ending. If your Medicaid benefits get cut off, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services may be able to give free legal help. Call our COVID-19 Hotline at 1-844-244-7871.
If you appealed on time and before the “effective date” listed on your cutoff notice, your Medicaid should have been kept on until the appeal is decided. If you need help getting it turned back on, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services may be able to give free help. Call our COVID-19 Hotline at 1-844-244-7871.
If your notice says your appeal was due on or after March 1, 2020, you can still appeal now to get a review of the Medicaid cutoff, under special Covid 19 rules temporarily extending appeal periods up to 120 days.
You can apply for free legal help by calling the Southeast Louisiana Legal Services COVID-19 Hotline at 1-844-244-7871.
Most people have normal Medicaid, not Presumptive Eligibility. Presumptive eligibility is a way that certain hospitals can give you temporary Medicaid coverage immediately, while your full application is processed. If you have Presumptive Eligibility for Louisiana Medicaid, you should continue with your Medicaid application to see if you are eligible for Medicaid. Presumptive Eligibility only lasts between one and two months unless you have an application for full Medicaid filed that has not yet been decided. If you did not apply for Medicaid during this time or your application is denied, your Medicaid will be cut off when your Presumptive Eligibility ends. If you are denied, you can apply for free legal help by calling the Southeast Louisiana Legal Services COVID-19 Hotline at 1-844-244-7871.
So far the state agency has increased SNAP benefits for March, April, and May 2020. If the Covid crisis continues the amount may increase for more months. This is a month by month decision between the state and federal governments and does not depend on the “Stay at Home order.”
Everyone in Louisiana who receives SNAP benefits for these months will get the maximum amount for their household size. This includes households that were already receiving benefits and households newly approved for SNAP benefits. But you only get it for the months you are receiving SNAP for.
These maximum amounts are:
| Number of people on your SNAP Household | Maximum SNAP benefits |
| 1 | $194 |
| 2 | $355 |
| 3 | $509 |
| 4 | $646 |
| 5 | $768 |
| 6 | $921 |
| 7 | $1048 |
| 8 | $1164 |
| Each Additional Member | $146 extra |
For example, for a household of 8 that usually gets $300 in SNAP benefits each month: The maximum benefit for a family of 8 is $1164. The difference ($1164 minus $300 = $864) is the supplement. The supplement ($864) has been or will be automatically added to the household’s SNAP card.
For a 1-person household who usually gets $50 in SNAP benefits each month: The maximum benefit for a 1-person household is $194. The difference ($194 minus $50 = $144) is the supplement. The supplement ($144) has been or will be automatically added to their SNAP card.
Households certified in April will automatically get the amounts listed above instead of a smaller regular SNAP benefit amount.
You do not need to do anything. Your benefits will increase automatically. You do not need to call the agency to confirm this. It will not help, and agency lines are very busy with people trying to apply for SNAP because so many people are losing their jobs.
You will receive your regular benefit amount on your regular assistance date (the 1st – 14th of the month). You will receive your May supplement during the week of May 18th.
Households that are newly approved for SNAP benefits in a month will get their regular amount first and then their supplement about a week later.
The State of Louisiana can increase SNAP benefits for additional months if we are still in the Covid crisis. It would need to file papers with the federal government before doing so.
If they don’t, the amount that each household receives will be based on household income, like it was before the Covid crisis (February 2020 and earlier).
You can come back to this page in June to see if there is any news about SNAP benefit increases for June 2020 or the months after that.
For more information, please see http://www.dcfs.louisiana.gov/page/snap-covid19-response-faqs.
On March 24, 2020, Louisiana became the fourth state to receive a federal disaster declaration to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. This declaration will help fund the state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in our state. The funding will also help the state, tribal and local governments, and certain nonprofit organization with emergency protective measures.
What kind of help does the Federal Disaster Declaration provide for individual residents in Louisiana?
The declaration will make federal funding available for “Crisis Counseling” for affected individuals in Louisiana.
What kinds of help does the Federal Disaster Declaration NOT provide?
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards requested disaster unemployment assistance and case management. However, to date, those requests have not been granted.
While the following kinds of help were provided after previous federal disaster declarations, they were NOT granted by the Federal Disaster Declaration in response to COVID-19 on March 24, 2020: