Food aid OK'd for tornado victims

ATLANTA - Federal officials have approved food assistance for tornado victims in 25 Georgia counties, including five northeast Georgia counties.

State officials said Tuesday they've received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to operate a Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It's designed to provide food stamp benefits to people who might not ordinarily qualify.

To be eligible, residents must have sustained disaster damage to their home, experienced the loss of food, have expenses related to protecting their homes or have lost income as a result of the disaster. They must also meet income eligibility thresholds.

They 25 counties that qualify include Habersham, Lumpkin, Pickens, Rabun and White, as well as Bartow, Catoosa, Cherokee, Coweta, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Greene, Harris, Heard, Lamar, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Polk, Spalding, Troup, Upson, and Walker.

For more information, call 1-866-371-8222.