Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Visits North Carolina to Highlight Federal Resources Available to Help Farmers, Families and Communities Recover from Hurricane Helene

Press Release

Release No. 0212.24

ASHEVILLE, NC, October 25, 2024 - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today visited Asheville, North Carolina, to hear firsthand from local, state and Tribal officials, emergency managers, food bank staff and volunteers, and impacted producers on the region's relief and recovery efforts and highlighted resources from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help producers, families, and communities in the Tarheel State recover from the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene.

"We know that communities impacted by Hurricane Helene have a long road to recovery, and USDA is committed to supporting that recovery for as long as it takes," said Secretary Vilsack. "Along with our fellow federal agencies across the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA will continue using every resource at our disposal to help people in North Carolina get back on their feet."

USDA is working with states, tribes, local governments, and partners to provide swift support to communities, farmers, ranchers, private forest landowners, and small businesses in North Carolina, and all affected areas, and is looking at every avenue possible to accelerate assistance and find ways to get resources to the people that need them most.

Resources Available to Impacted Producers

USDA offers a suite of programs to help agricultural operations in North Carolina recover, and has allowed flexibilities to streamline and expedite the recovery process.

Producers can visit farmers.gov/hurricane for more information on programs and flexibilities or call the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Call Center at 877-508-8364. You can also stay up to date on available assistance by subscribing to receive free email and text message communications directly from your local USDA Service Center at farmers.gov/subscribe.

USDA also offers access to mental health resources, including the Southern Ag Exchange Network Farmer Support Hotline, which is available 24/7 at 888-381-7243. This hotline provides confidential support to those struggling mentally and emotionally.

For more information, you may view a full list of programs and flexibilities for producers, including:

• Reporting Losses: USDA encourages producers to document damages and losses as best as possible, but understands some documentation may be lost, destroyed, or unattainable. Report damages to FSA. If you are unable to provide documentation, FSA is happy to work with you.
• Crop Insurance: USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) has authorized crop insurance companies to provide flexibility on reporting requirements for those who are unable to report losses due to the disaster. If you have crop insurance, contact your crop insurance agent.
• FSA Disaster Programs: FSA offers a number of disaster programs as well as low-interest emergency loans to help producers recover from production and physical losses. FSA is providing flexibilities for its programs, including extended signup opportunities and use of waivers and emergency procedures to expedite program delivery.
• EQIP Assistance: USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical and financial assistance to producers through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to help with immediate needs and long-term support to help recover from natural disasters and conserve water resources. The program can assist with restoring livestock infrastructure, emergency animal mortality disposal, and immediate soil erosion protection. NRCS-North Carolina recently announced the availability of $15 million for Emergency EQIP.
• EWP Assistance: NRCS offers help to communities through the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program, which provides assistance to landowners and project sponsors following a natural disaster. EWP is designed to help people and conserve natural resources by relieving imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms, and other natural occurrences.

Nutrition Assistance for Impacted Individuals and Families

USDA is working with states, local government officials, and partners to ensure that food and nutrition assistance reaches those in need as soon as possible. USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) issued flexibilities and waivers for its many nutrition programs across states affected by Hurricane Helene, including North Carolina, in order to help those in impacted communities get the food they need quickly. Families may receive additional assistance through:

• USDA Foods Distribution: Yesterday, FNS approved the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to use 100-percent American-grown USDA Foods to operate a disaster household distribution in 20 counties. The disaster household distribution food boxes will be provided to approximately 348,000 individuals via self-pick up at food banks and pantry distribution sites in the 20 targeted counties from November 4-December 3.
• D-SNAP: People living in 25 impacted counties who suffered losses as a result of Hurricane Helene may be eligible for USDA's Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP). Through D-SNAP, which USDA makes available through states in the aftermath of disasters, people who may not otherwise be eligible for SNAP in normal circumstances can apply to receive a one-time benefit to help buy food if they meet income limits and incurred disaster-related expenses. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports that as of Wednesday, more than 105,000 individuals had been approved to receive D-SNAP benefits. The D-SNAP application period concluded yesterday in most counties; the latest information on D-SNAP is available on the NCDHHS website.
• Food and Benefit Replacement: FNS approved the NCDHHS request to automatically replace a portion of SNAP benefits for impacted households for food purchased with SNAP benefits that was lost as a result of Hurricane Helene. Households also have more time to report food loss if they are in a county not covered by the mass replacement, or if they lost more food than the mass replacement would cover. Families have until October 26, 2024, to report food lost as a result of the storm.
• Hot Foods Waiver: SNAP households statewide, including those with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, can purchase hot foods with SNAP benefits through November 3, 2024. This waiver allows households to purchase hot foods with SNAP benefits where Hurricane Helene has left many without a place to prepare food.

Additionally, FNS has provided flexibilities for the WIC program and other child nutrition programs, including Summer-EBT and school meal programs, to allow those programs to best serve impacted communities. All FNS flexibilities in the state can be found at the North Carolina Disaster Nutrition Assistance webpage.

Rural Development Resources

USDA is providing immediate relief to existing Rural Development (RD) borrowers, including homeowners and businesses in impacted areas of North Carolina. Rural Development stands ready to help people whose communities have been devastated and offers essential support to rural residents, local government and business owners to aid their long-term recovery and rebuilding process. Individuals looking for assistance should contact their local Rural Development office to discuss available flexibilities.

• Housing: Existing home loan borrowers who have had properties damaged in Presidentially declared disaster areas may request the suspension of mortgage payments for a period of time. Borrowers may also request waiver of late fees for delayed payments for a period of time, request a payment assistance package and file a claims package. There is a dedicated disaster assistance phone line available at(888) 796-0538 or TDD (800) 438-1832 or email inquiries to [email protected].
• Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP): For these existing borrowers available flexibilities include: an immediate 90-day suspension on collections and foreclosures; forbearance on any mortgage payments for up to 12 months;borrowers may also be eligible for local, state, or federal aid and should work with their SFHGLP are encouraged to with their borrowers to identify additional resources. Guaranteed Loan servicing questions should be directed to [email protected].
• Water and Environmental Programs (WEP): FEMA Public Assistance (PA) and Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) applicants can use Rural Utilities Service (RUS) WEP grant funding toward the non-Federal cost share (75% - sometimes 100%) for eligible FEMA repair/restoration and mitigation projects. Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants (ECWAG) are available to help eligible rural communities recover from an emergency that threatens the availability of safe, reliable drinking water. For assistance and guidance on application guidelines, rural water and waste system officials should contact their local RD office.
• Business Programs: State Business Program Directors will address immediate needs and challenges of guaranteed loan borrowers and lenders. For more information contact your local office. For existing grantees, USDA RD will provide extensions of the grant performance period to provide grantees and opportunity to reestablish after an event and continue on with the award purpose. For intermediaries, who have received funding through USDA RD Business Programs, USDA RD will engage with intermediaries to determine the disaster impact to the underlying revolving loan/businesses to assess repayment risk.

Secretary Vilsack in Asheville

In Asheville, Secretary Vilsack visited the Asheville FEMA Emergency Operations Center and U.S. Forest Service Dispatch Center/USDA Asheville Service Center. He received briefings from local USDA and Forest Service staff, who have been working to support FEMA's national response. As part of these efforts, Forest Service personnel have cleared over 150 miles of road, and partially cleared over 80 miles of road, in multiple counties in western North Carolina, providing critical access for search and rescue crews and other responders.

Secretary Vilsack also traveled to Mills River, NC, to visit the MANNA FoodBank Distribution Center, which has been providing much needed food assistance and emergency food distributions for residents impacted by Hurricane Helene. Residents can learn more about MANNA's efforts, volunteer, donate and find food distribution locations at www.usda.gov.

At the Western North Carolina Farmers Market in Asheville, Secretary Vilsack met with local farmers and ranchers whose operations have incurred damages and losses due to Hurricane Helene. He heard firsthand how USDA can best support them as they recover and rebuild, and assured them that USDA is committed to supporting them as long as it takes. As part of this assistance, Secretary Vilsack announced last week initial indemnity payments to producers under hurricane and tropical storm crop insurance policies, totaling an estimated $4.1 million for North Carolina. As farmers submit more claims, the amount of assistance provided will continue to increase.

Visit USDA's Disaster Resource Center for more on how the Department is responding to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America's food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

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