U.S. expands disaster food stamps in California

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To help wildfire victims, the Bush administration expanded the disaster food stamp program to San Bernardino County in southern California, officials said on Friday.

The Agriculture Department said it "is prepared to approve" Riverside County later in the day. USDA operates the food stamp program, the largest U.S. antihunger program. It helps 26 million poor Americans buy food each month.

Disaster food stamps provide one month's benefits. Eligibility and paperwork requirements are minimized to speed up service. The emergency program would run until November 20 in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

On Thursday, USDA approved San Diego County for the emergency aid.

People not ordinarily eligible for food stamps may qualify for disaster food stamps if they spent money protecting, repairing or evacuating their homes or if they lost food or income because of the fire, said USDA.

USDA said people already receiving food stamps may receive additional benefits if they suffered expenses due to the fire.