SNAP waiver supplements September sales at area delis

The line for the deli was several-dozen people deep and nearly out the door Sunday at Tony’s Seafood Market & Deli as people on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program took advantage of the last day to buy ready-to-eat hot foods in September. “They told me it was like a Last Supper,” says manager Beth Miller at Tony’s. Because of Hurricane Isaac, the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services got a federal waiver to allow people on what used to be the food stamp program use their cards and buy hot food. That included seafood, too. “Anything edible,” says Miller. “That’s why our business was so good.” Miller could not divulge sales figures for the month; an owner did not return a phone message seeking the information. The waiver after the storm applied to nearly 389,000 households receiving SNAP benefits, in addition to households approved for the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The waiver came via the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service as many people had to evacuate their homes because of Isaac and did not have the ability to cook for themselves. Normally, SNAP cardholders cannot buy hot food products prepared for immediate consumption. —Adam Pearson