Print article Alaska could lose out on millions of dollars in additional food benefits if it doesn’t have a new public health disaster declaration in place by spring. Alaska, along with other states, can ask the federal government for certain emergency benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — formerly known as food stamps — that Alaskans receive on top of their regular benefits during the pandemic, said Shawnda O’Brien, who directs the state’s public assistance department. But those added dollars hinge on both a state and national emergency disaster declaration being in place each month. Alaska’s disaster declaration expired this month.