Durham County Social Services Food Stamps

About The Orange County Department Of Social Services Food Stamp Office

The Orange County Department of Social Services Food Stamp Office, located in Hillsborough, NC, administers the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Hillsborough residents. Often called “food stamps,” SNAP benefits provide nutrition assistance for income-eligible households. The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees the SNAP program, and SNAP Offices distribute benefits to Hillsborough residents. The program reduces food insecurity and poverty by providing supplemental nutrition assistance for low-income households.

You may contact Food Stamp Offices for questions about:

• Hillsborough food stamp eligibility
• Applying for food stamps and SNAP food benefit
• Calculating SNAP benefits

Using The Durham County Dss Food Stamps Office In North Carolina

The Durham County DSS Food Stamps Office in Durham, North Carolina is where you need to go to speak with program representatives. In fact, you can visit this facility no matter where you are in the enrollment process. Regardless of whether you are a first-time or renewal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program applicant, a representative at this office can assist you.

At this Durham food stamps office, Food Assistance Program representatives can help you manage your SNAP benefits. If you live nearby, you may need to come to this facility to submit your application or complete an interview. In any case, it is important that you know how to contact the Durham County DSS Food Stamps Office in North Carolina workers if you have any questions.

Durham County Public Aid Government Benefits And Social Services

Assisting children, vulnerable low income families and the less fortunate in Durham County, the Social Services Department administers a number of public and government assistance programs. While short term financial aid may be offered in some cases, a focus is on enhancing economic stability as well as individual responsibility.

The North Carolina Work First program, or TANF, is available. This provides temporary financial assistance or cash grants to families while they enroll into job training or are seeking employment. Case managers will also put clients in touch with resources that will help them find employment as quickly as possible.

Work First Emergency Assistance is for families with children. It can be used to pay for final notices or disconnected utilities, past due rent to avoid eviction, and other basic needs. It is an option when the applicant is out of options through no fault of their own and they are faced with a crisis that they did not create.

The Durham HPP – Homelessness Prevention Program is a County wide program designed to reduce homeless. It can help by offering funds for paying rent, a security deposit, or other housing support. DSS can also help with eviction prevention.

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Benefits To Purchase Food

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known in NC as Food and Nutrition Services – Provides benefits to purchase food.

• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children – Provides nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, access to healthy foods and referrals to healthcare and social services for pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children under age 5.

• WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program – Provides eligible WIC participants with benefits to purchase fruits and vegetables at local farmers markets. Program is not available statewide.

Locate Food Assistance Programs In Durham North Carolina

Interfaith Food Shuttle is a nontraditional food bank that is used to create systems and processes that address food insecurity and that also promote access to wholesome nutritious food. Call 250-0043 for more information on food programs.

United for Christ Church, Inc. – 251-9947 runs a food pantry.

Church of God of Prophecy offers food on Saturdays. Call 688-7838

United Pentecostal – Emergency food to people who need help. Dial 477-6555.

Many other charities have food pantries, or families can apply to public aid such as WIC or SNAP. Or get information on additional food North Carolina free food pantries.

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Meals Or Snacks On Site

• Child and Adult Care Food Program – Ensures children and adults attending approved non-residential care facilities and at-risk afterschool programs receive nutritious meals.

• School Meals – National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and After School Snack Program – Provides children and teenagers breakfast, lunch and snacks that meets federal nutrition standards in NC public schools.

• Summer Nutrition Programs – Provides free meals to children during summer vacation. childnutrition.ncpublicschools.

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How Does It Work

• Food and Nutrition Services benefits are issued monthly through Electronic Benefit Transfer which automatically deposits the monthly balance into the household’s EBT account.
• Households are issued a card and can pay for their groceries at food stores by using the card in the same way they would use a debit card at the checkout counter.
• The cost of the purchased groceries is deducted electronically from the EBT account.

Debt And Bankruptcy Counseling

A non-profit that also serves Durham NC clients is Vision Credit Education, Inc. Counselors at this organization can advise people on debt reduction and foreclosure prevention programs, as well as how to improve and repair credit scores and ratings. Deal with a financial hardship. 379-4720

The Peoples Building in Durham has an agency that offers individuals counseling to gain protection from creditors and to work out a plan for paying debts under the supervision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The center also provides classes open to the public in budgeting, debt reduction, credit contracts, comparative shopping, interest rates, foreclosure prevention, etc. Individual counseling offered one day a week to individuals. Call 688-8065, or read more on help with bankruptcy filings.

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Food And Nutrition Services Employment And Training Program

The Food and Nutrition Services Employment and Training Program is committed to strengthening families by providing job-driven, skills-based training that leads to meaningful employment for FNS recipients. North Carolinas FNS E& T Program is voluntary there are no mandatory participation requirements for FNS recipients.

FNS E& T Participation Criteria

An individual is eligible to receive FNS E& T services if he/she:

• Is a member of an active FNS unit
• At least 16 years of age
• A resident of a county operating an E& T Program
• Able to work upon program completion
• Has the physical and mental ability to work at least 20 hours per week. For clients with a verified disability, such as an active SSI recipient, you will use the clients statement or client-provided documentation to determine FNS E& T eligibility and

An individual CANNOT receive FNS E& T services if he/she:

• Is an applicant or recipient of Work First Family Assistance required to participate in employment services. FNS recipients who are a part of WFFA Child-Only cases may receive E& T services.
• Is a refugee subject to work requirement s imposed by a Refugee Resettlement Program .

Contractual Partners

The Division of Social Services/Food and Nutrition Services/Employment and Training Program posts an annual Request for Application on its website under the working title Food and Nutrition Services Employment and Training Program.

County Partners

Food And Nutrition Services

The Food and Nutrition Services Program, previously referred to as Food Stamps, helps low-income households with monthly food expenses. The purpose of Food and Nutrition Services is to end hunger and improve nutrition and health. It helps eligible households buy the food they need for a nutritionally adequate diet.

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Food Delivery Or Pick Up

• Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations Provides USDA foods to income-eligible households living on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians reservation and to Native American households residing in designated counties near the reservation.

• The Emergency Food Assistance Programs – Supplements the food needs of low-income households. Food packages are distributed by approved local agencies.

Fns Replacement/supplement Request Form

If you are a current North Carolina Food and Nutrition Services recipient or Simplified Nutritional Assistance Program recipient that has suffered a food loss due to a power outage or flooding from Tropical Storm Fred, and you have not already received a replacement, you have 10 days from the date of the loss to request a replacement by filling out the DSS 1678 Replacement/Supplement Affidavit form . You will need to print the form, complete and sign it, then mail, fax, or drop it off at your County Department of Social Services office.

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North Carolina Food And Nutrition Resource Programs

North Carolinas State Nutrition Action Coalition is a state-level collaborative with active representation from state agencies and nonprofits that implement the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service programs. Together, the SNAC partnering organizations reach people throughout their life span, providing food benefits, nutrition education, healthy community changes, and obesity prevention services to reduce food insecurity and improve the quality of life of North Carolinians.

The NC Food and Nutrition Resource Programs guide provides a snapshot of fourteen different USDA FNS programs available in North Carolina. These programs provide a vital source of support and act as a stimulus for local economies. This resource guide is designed to be used by anyone that directly works with people who may benefit from knowing more about these USDA programs and how to access them. NC Food and Nutrition Resource Programs guide is available in a downloadable print version below and through the USDA programs listed.

For More Information about specific programs, please utilize the links on the resource. To receive additional printed copies of this resource, please contact

Food And Nutrition Services Program

The Food and Nutrition Services voluntary program provides education and training opportunities along with job search strategies that lead to sustainable employment. The program is a collaboration between Durham Technical Community College, Orange County Department of Social Services, and Durham County Department of Social Services.

To qualify, you must be an Orange or Durham County Resident who is receiving FNS benefits .

The program provides:

• Career counseling and success coaching to help you create and succeed in your goals. This includes job search assistance with résumés, networking, interview skills, and job fairs to connect with employers.

• Access to funding to pay for tuition in a Durham Tech credential, certificate, diploma, or degree program.

• Orange County FNS clients have access to supplemental funding to assist with other living expenses, books, uniforms, and supplies while attending school.

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Other Resources And Programs That Help With Bills And Expenses

Operation Breakthrough, Inc. provides Durham County families with several programs and resources that can provide them with short term relief. Some of their programs are below. Contact them at 688-8111 to learn more or apply.

• North Carolina Weatherization Assistance Program Helps homes become more energy efficient and safer by upgrading the home to conserve energy and make it more energy efficient. After successful implementation it can reduce the resident’s heating and cooling bills by an average of 32 percent.

• Some of the improvements and methods used to conserve energy and insulate a home are caulkingfloors, weather stripping, insulation inattics and walls, as well as repairing broken window panes. In addition, Operation Breakthrough’s WAP also runs the Durham County areas Heating & Air Replacement Program , which provides funds to repair or replace heating and air units.

Additional support may be provided by the non-profit community action agency, namely referrals and help in applying for federal government benefits. More on Operation Breakthrough programs.

The Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh also helps Durham North Carolina residents. The non-profit agency offers emergency assistance, immigration services, and they try to improve the quality of family life of Durham residents. Call them at 821-9750, or click here to find how to get rent help.

Adult and Crisis Services runs several services and emergency programs for the low income and poor.

What Will Happen To The 36500 Durham Residents Who Rely On Federal Food Assistance If Theres Another Shutdown

With one thirty-five-day federal government shutdown behind them, Durham County Social Services officials are preparing for what another government shutdown could mean for the federal food assistance that more than seventeen thousand Durham households rely on.

About $4.5 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program fundsalso known as food stampsare distributed each month in Durham County, helping about 36,500 individuals buy groceries. As the recent partial government shutdown became the longest in U.S. history, social services officials had no idea if and when the next round of SNAP benefits would be released to recipients.

Ive been doing this for twenty-eight years, and I never thought Id see SNAP shut down, but we got pretty close, DCSS director Ben Rose last week.

Though the shutdown ended January 25, President Trump only agreed to fund government agencies through February 15 while Democrats and Republicans negotiate over funding for border security. That means another shutdown could begin next Saturday.

So on Thursday, DCSS convened stakeholders to prepare to meet additional needs for food assistance in the event of another prolonged shutdownwhether that comes next week or in the future. The meeting drew representatives from Social Services, county administration, area food banks, and community organizations.

Rose said hes optimistic the government will stay open, but we have to be realistic that were probably not completely out of the woods.

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