Table 5.

Limiting and supporting factors in food benefit program implementation crisis response.

Facilitators	Obstacles
Federal support for administrative costs	Increased administrative costs at expanded scale
	Insufficient State budget to accommodate increased cost of scale of benefit programs
“Single stop” model allowing individuals to register for multiple assistance programs at once	Insufficient in-person registration sites
Expedited application interview processes	Time required when implementation requires the creation of new channels for benefit distribution
Categorical eligibility
Use of existing benefit distribution channels for crisis specific benefits or benefit increases (e.g. use of EBT systems)
Coordination across city and state agencies	Lack of coordination and state by state differences in implementation policies
Appointment of a disaster response coordinator or crisis czar
Direct prioritization of food security	During geographically centered crisis (e.g. hurricanes, wildfires, terrorist attacks) food benefit programs may become “lost in the shuffle” of economically focused policies such as those that address housing and job displacement