Thousands of families struggling to replenish groceries lost when the power went out during the June 27th storm are getting help from FEMA in the form of food stamps.

Because of the disaster, there's a wider income bracket so more people have qualified.

The four disaster centers were supposed to be open until 5 p.m. Tuesday to take applications and let people know if they qualify, but the response has been so huge, they had to stop accepting applicants shortly after 10 a.m.

There's plenty of need after the storm knocked out power to 126,000 in metro Omaha.

"For four days," says Sunsiray Blake of Omaha, regarding the amount of time she went without electricity.

"Our power was only out for a few days, but it flooded our basement," says Darryl Moore of Omaha.

"We lost practically everything and we were out for three days," says Sandra Walker of Ralston. Walker and her family don't normally qualify for food stamps, but they may qualify for special relief from FEMA and Health and Human Services. "I hope so," says Walker.

Others hope so, too. "I had just went grocery shopping, getting ready for the Fourth, it was about two hundred and something in my refrigerator and it's gone," says Blake.

Those like Blake have been willing to wait in line three or four hours on the chance they'll get some help. "The turnout has been large to say the least,” says Barry DeJong of Nebraska Health and Human Services. “We're experiencing quite a bit of traffic at each location."

One of the sites that opened up had to close because it couldn't handle all the vehicles. "We wish we had the manpower and the resources to open up five more sites to try to ease the pressure, but we don't right now,” says Dejong.

Outside the Family Resource Center at 30th and Lake, people waited. "Please be patient, we are going as fast as we possibly can," they were told. Some grew weary, but said the payoff was worth it.

"This will really help me out, save a little money," says Moore.

"Right now as gas is going up, everything is going up, it really helps in the household,” says Blake.

HHS hasn't tallied Tuesday’s number of applicants, but it took in about 1,500 Monday. The income guideline used is a bit complex, so HHS recommends you just come down to one of the centers and talk to a representative or call.

Here are the distribution locations and guidelines:
DHHS Disaster Food Stamp Assistance Centers:
Through Saturday, July 12th
7:30 AM-5:30 PM