JPMorgan during the past year assisted California, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington in providing assistance to victims of natural catastrophes. Disaster Food Stamp Program funds totaling nearly $250 million were distributed to more than 710,000 households via JPMorgan’s Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards.
“EBT and debit cards are an effective payment mechanism during disaster situations as they provide benefit recipients with immediate access to assistance,” says Laurie Neill, managing director of Public Sector Solutions, JPMorgan. ” JPMorgan is proud to have helped our state government clients prepare for and react to major emergencies effectively.”
In response to hurricanes Gustav and Ike in September 2008, JPMorgan’s EBT cards were used to assist Louisiana in deploying one of the largest Disaster Food Stamp Program benefit issuances in US history. More than $208 million in emergency benefits were issued to 609,595 households.
“In the wake of the two hurricanes, DSS worked with Florida and JPMorgan to implement the first-ever technology partnership between states for issuing Disaster Food Stamp Program benefits,” says Kristy Nichols, DSS interim secretary.
Teams from Louisiana, Florida, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) and JPMorgan worked together to develop a system that links the two states, should Louisiana encounter technical issues in future emergency situations.
In December 2007, the Washington Department of Social and Health Services initiated the “Feed Washington Families” Disaster Food Stamp Program to enable victims of the worst floods and windstorms in Southwest Washington’s recorded history to buy food. Washington distributed more than $4.6 million in program benefits to 17,000 households using JPMorgan’s EBT cards. In addition to issuing the cards, JPMorgan monitored retailer activity reports and was able to report which retailers were still operating during the disaster. This information enabled the state to tell applicants where they could go to make food purchases.
Last year’s wildfires in southern California prompted the largest evacuation in California’s history and destroyed at least 1,800 homes. In October 2007, JPMorgan assisted California’s Department of Social Services distribute emergency relief to citizens in San Bernardino and San Diego counties. Nearly $3.8 million in funds were distributed to more than 8,800 households.
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