ATLANTA – Life is just now starting to return to normal for many low-income Georgia residents who rely on federal aid to put food on their tables.

More than 123,000 households in many of the counties hardest hit by Tropical Storm Irma have received additional benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps.

These are people whose perishable food was wiped out after Irma ripped through Georgia more than two weeks ago, causing lengthy and widespread power outages. At least 1.5 million homes were without power at the height of the storm.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the state’s request to replenish 45 percent of this month’s benefits for those living in 69 counties, from Camden County down on the coast up to Towns County in northeast Georgia.

Replacing such a wide swath of benefits will cost the federal government $46.9 million. There is no cost to the state.

“We were fortunate that they allowed us to do 45 percent,” said Mary Beth Lukich, spokeswoman for the state Division of Family and Children Services. “Most people had just gotten their benefits the week prior (to the storm).”

A mass replacement of food stamp benefits isn’t unheard of, but the scope this time is unusually broad, Lukich said. Irma was so massive that a state of emergency was declared – likely for the first time in Georgia’s history – for all 159 counties.

By contrast, about 30 percent of benefits were replaced last year for people in 12 counties after Hurricane Matthew.

The money was automatically uploaded to the recipients’ cards over the weekend. People living outside the approved counties who lost food during the outage must apply for replacement benefits by Monday.

Lukich said the 69 counties qualified because at least 50 percent of homes were without power for more than four hours. 

There were reports that some low-income residents started calling emergency numbers in search of food after the storm. Some local communities stepped in and opened up their food pantries to help fill the void until power could be stored and refrigerators could be restocked. 

Eliza McCall, spokeswoman for Second Harvest of South Georgia in Valdosta, which serves a 30-county area, said that food insecurity already affects one out of four people in south Georgia.

Events such as Irma compound the problem, although McCall said it could be a month or longer before Irma’s full impact in Georgia can likely be measured.

That’s because low-income residents, including those who earn too much to qualify for food stamps, who had to overextend themselves to refill their fridge may not feel the squeeze on their finances until later.

“This is a good reminder that most of us are only one thing way from hunger: one natural disaster, one illness, one accident, one job loss,” McCall said Tuesday. 

Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jnolin@cnhi.com.