Thousands line up for post-Irma food vouchers distribution at Southwest Florida International Airport

Shelby Concepción was on the road before dawn Thursday to seek federal food help from a program for people hard-hit by Hurricane Irma.

She was one of more than 2,000 to apply within the first hours of the Food for Florida event for Lee and Collier counties at Southwest Florida International Airport. By 9 a.m., traffic stretched two miles along Chamberlin Parkway on the back end of the airport, but the extra traffic hadn't delayed departing travelers, said airport spokeswoman Victoria Moreland.

The state Department of Children and Families is administering the U.S. Department of Agriculture money, and expected to process at least 10,000 household applications by day's end, said spokeswoman Natalie Harrell. The event runs through Tuesday, Oct. 31.

More:Long lines of cars for Irma food distribution at Southwest Florida International Airport

Getting there:LeeTran shuttles will run to hurricane food voucher event in south Fort Myers

The help is intended for people like Concepción, who aren't already on food stamps, work or live in the FEMA-designated disaster area and suffered hurricane-related loss or expenses. For Concepción, a house cleaner who lost a roof, her air conditioner and weeks of work, those losses are already upwards of $5,000. Her husband, an electrician who's battling cancer, has also been jobless because the storm damaged the building he was working on.

Also in line was Edith Caballero, a Lehigh Acres daycare worker whose facility was closed after the hurricane. "The month of the hurricane, I was working only about a week," she said.

The women's situations track with what Harrell knows about applicants. "The main issues are the expenses people incurred during Irma (and) they're struggling to put food on their table, especially nutritious food." She recalled a woman who told her she'd had to feed her children peanut butter and jelly every day for the last three weeks because she couldn't afford anything else.

"That's what this program is for: to help families living paycheck to paycheck that aren't normally on (assistance)," Harrell said. "This is not something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. This is something that we've all been impacted by."

More:Hurricane Irma: How, why and when to apply for FEMA aid

More:Lee schools 'adopted' by donors from around state, nation in wake of Hurricane Irma

An eligible single person can get $386 and a family of four $1,289. (And though the help is commonly called "food stamps," it actually comes in the form of a rechargeable debit card).

To speed the process, Harrell strongly recommends pre-registering online. Not only will it let applicants know for sure if they're eligible — and save them a trip if they're not — it cuts the amount of on-site paperwork in half, she said.

Though DCF applied for the federal program three days after the storm, the feds won't distribute the help until an area has enough open stores and restored power, a paradox that makes the hardest-hit areas the slowest to get aid. That's why less-affected counties to the north and east got help sooner, and DCF won't pitch its tents in Hendry County until Saturday.

But FEMA has been helping with food in the meantime, Harrell pointed out. "Then as we ramp up, FEMA ramps down," she said. "So there's some logic to it."

The event's 400 or so workers, who pull 15- and 16-hour shifts daily, are half DCF staffers and half local temporary workers hired through CareerSource Florida, a state agency that helps people find jobs.

"These are people who were unemployed," Harrell said, "so this is a way we can help give them some work, and they can also help their community."

Details
What: Food for Florida benefit card distribution for Lee and Collier County residents

When: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (including the weekend) through Tuesday, Oct. 31.

Where: North side of Southwest Florida International Airport, 16000 Chamberlin Parkway, Fort Myers. Lee County Transit will offer shuttles to Food for Florida from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. through the even't end. Passengers can connect to the shuttles by riding LeeTran’s Route 50 or Route 60. The shuttles will pick up at LeeTran’s stop on Jetport Commerce Parkway and Daniels Parkway as well as the LeeTran stop at Gulf Coast Town Center.

Learn more and pre-register: myflfamilies.com/fff  before going to the distribution site.

Etc.: Food for Florida electronic benefits transfer cards are good at most grocery stores. Only one person per household needs to come for the on-site interview. That person will need to show photo ID and give a Social Security number.