By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – Long lines and oppressive heat did little to stop thousands of residents of St. John Parish who wanted to take advantage of the state’s disaster food stamp program, which kicked off Wednesday morning in LaPlace.

Louisiana National Guard troops and deputies from the St. John Sheriff’s Office, who were providing security and organization at the application site at New Wine Christian Fellowship, said residents began lining up around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to try and fight the crowds. By 8 a.m., when the location started processing applicants, the line of residents snaked the entire length of the sprawling retail center along Airline Highway. Business stayed steady all afternoon.

“I’m just glad we are finally getting some help out here in St. John,” said Reserve resident Tammy Neyland with some authority. “We are just trying to get our feet back under us.”

In addition to losing a refrigerator full of food when the power went out, Neyland said her home suffered heavy roof damage during Hurricane Gustav.

“My husband is over at the Sheriff’s Office signing up for a blue tarp,” Neyland said. “I think he got the better deal.”

According to a release from the Department of Social Services, eligibility is based on the combined income of all members of a household, plus other income factors.

The limit and maximum allotment varies based on household size. A household of one, which will receive roughly $160 in food stamps, should have an income limit at or below $2,079. A two-person household should have an income limit at $2,707, and they will receive $298. A three-person family, which should have an income limit of $3,108, would receive $426 in food stamp credit.

Alicia Brown, who came all the way from Edgard, said she intends to use her food stamp allotment to compensate for the gas she spent evacuating with her children to Jackson.

“I spent well over $100 getting out of here and I know I won’t get that back,” said Brown. “But if I can get an extra few hundred to take care of food for a few weeks, that would be great.”

Samantha Allen of LaPlace said she was more than happy to spend a few hours in line to get whatever help she could as she and her family recover from the damage wrought by the storm.

“Every little bit helps, and I look at this as some payback from the state for being without power for so long,” said Allen, who was still without power that morning. “I really didn’t expect as much damage as we got.”

Most people in line hoped to only spend a day waiting to be processed, but some of the members in the procession had already logged hours Tuesday morning, due to confusion about locations and site openings.

“This is day two for me,” said Charles Williams of LaPlace, who trekked out to Reserve Tuesday morning, along with scores of others, to a closed parish office. “I just hope I get it today.”

Williams said he and several others were told that the program was to begin in St. John on Tuesday, but representatives from the Louisiana Department of Social Services said he was simply a victim of some miscommunication.

“Our office has actually been receiving calls constantly about people lined up at offices across the state still closed due to the storm,” said Cheryl Michelet, director of communications for the department. “The only problem was that the program had yet to be approved by the Department of Agriculture.”

Michelet said her office has been doing everything in its power to ensure the program operated in a smooth and efficient manner so that the maximum number of applicants could be processed.

“We spent a great deal of time determining adequate locations for the application centers,” said Michelet. “We have been limited in our choices because, well let’s face it, we are still in a disaster here. We needed large locations with working air conditioning so that people would be comfortable. This is why there is only one location per parish.”

Michelet added that Louisiana Social Services Secretary Ann Silverberg Williamson made several pleas to the federal government to try and do away with the face-to-face application process to no avail.

“We figured that we could service more people faster by opening the program up to the Internet or phone interview, but the USDA refused,” said Michelet. “We were told that they have never waived the face-to-face mandate for any disaster of this kind.”

Despite the long lines and limited sites, Michelet said as of Wednesday, social services employees had processed over 30,000 applications across the state, with the most coming from New Orleans and Baton Rouge. To make things even easier, residents in the affected areas can report to whatever location they chose.

“Say if you live in Orleans Parish, but you work in St. John Parish,” Michelet said. “A resident could choose to apply in St. John to try and save time and maybe avoid taking a full day off of work.”

In order to take advantage of the program, Michelet said applicants must have verification of identify of the head of the household and that of an authorized representative who is applying on behalf of the head of household. A driver’s license, picture ID, work or school ID, voter registration card, pay stubs, birth certificate, an ID for health benefits or another assistance or social services program will all suffice. Applicants should bring the names and Social Security numbers of all persons residing in the household as of August 29, 2008, verification of you and your household’s residence, and any information regarding income and bank accounts for all members of the household.

Michelet said the application centers are scheduled to be open for seven days, but she said her office is looking into the possibility of extending the time period an additional seven days to accommodate need. As of Wednesday, the deadline stands at Tuesday, September 9.