OCALA, Fla. – Marion County residents were stuck in standstill traffic Saturday morning while trying to get to a disaster food stamps site the first day the state offered them at that location.
A mess of traffic could be seen outside the visitation center at the Marion County Jail, but people said things were running smoothly once they were able to get inside.
Cars began showing up at the site even before it opened at 7 a.m.
Patrice Medford, a disaster food stamps recipient, said cars were everywhere when she arrived.
Since traffic was backed up for blocks, some people chose to park their cars and walk instead of waiting hours in line to receive benefits from the program, which was designed to help people who are not already on public assistance after Hurricane Irma.
Denise Allen, who was waiting to get the food stamps Saturday, said she had just restocked on groceries when the storm left her without power for days.
"I had just finished all my grocery shopping – two refrigerators and a freezer full of food – nine days without electric. It wasn't fun," Allen said.
Ocala police directed the traffic in an effort to keep the flow moving, but officers said more people than officials initially anticipated showed up for the stamps.
"This is a lot of vehicles, a lot of people,” Sgt. Eric Hooper, with the Ocala Police Department, said. “They're expecting 40,000 over the next five days and we were not expecting this."
So many people showed up to another Central Florida location in Brevard County that the Department of Children and Families had to shut down the disaster food stamps program at that location two hours early on the last day it was set to open because of safety issues.
Officials sent people who missed out on the Brevard County location to other sites like the one in Marion County.
The crowd in Marion County was also raising safety concerns for local law enforcement.
"The issue is us getting to, in and out of the Sheriff's Office and us getting in and out of the jail if we need to,” Hooper said. “It is creating a safety issue if emergency vehicles need to get back there. It's not possible."
Once people finally did make it to the site Saturday, they said it was a smooth process to get their food benefits.
Elaine Martinez, who received the stamps Saturday, said there were a lot of lines, but that she was never at a complete standstill.
Martinez said that even though it was crowded, it was worth it to get the help.
“Not being able to work throughout that whole week of the hurricane—so this helps a lot," Martinez said.
The DCF said the program has helped more than 300,000 families throughout the state. Officials urged anyone hoping to receive benefits to pre-register.
To qualify for the program, called the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as D-SNAP, individuals not already receiving food benefits must have lived or worked in one of Florida’s 48 counties approved for post-storm disaster relief.
A list of locations and an online application for the program can be found here.