Food stamp recipients in Tyrrell and seven other coastal counties received a “mass replacement” of benefits Sept. 16 to offset losses they may have experienced in Hurricane Dorian, according to Brandy Mann, Tyrrell’s social services director.

Tyrrell has approximately 348 Food and Nutrition Services cases, and each case can have one or more individuals who benefit from the program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sept. 14 approved a waiver which allows the State of North Carolina to issue a mass replacement of Food and Nutrition Services benefits to eight counties impacted by Hurricane Dorian, Mann explained.

The state’s social services computer system, NC FAST, ran a batch process to issue these benefits, which were made available to households on Sept. 16.

The replacement value is 30% of each household’s August 2019 benefits, Mann said.

The eight counties impacted are Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Currituck, Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington.

On a related note, the county commissioners recently appointed Clydette Overton to another three-year term on the Tyrrell social services board.

Other board members are: Carl Willis, Chairman; Dorothy Spencer, Vice Chair; Carol Davis; and Ernestine Hassell.