SNAP had some good news for Spokane families Thursday when they announced they would open another round of heating assistance appointments on January 6.

Previously it was thought that federal cuts would hamper the energy assistance program for low-income families in Spokane, but those cuts weren't as deep as predicted, meaning SNAP will be able to help 3,000 more households than they previously projected.

Larry Stuckart with SNAP says that now is the time when households start to feel the pinch, with some people even receiving heat shut off notices.

"People may not be in need now but the bills will start to come in, if you're on Avista, the bills are usually about a month behind the cold weather so you need to get in for the help as soon as you can," Stuckart said.

Heating assistance appointments open up on January 6 at 8:30 a.m. and will be open until 3 p.m. Monday through Friday until all 3,000 appointments are filled. The phone line will also be open on Saturday, January 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The phone number to call for an appointment is (509) 242-2376. Larry Stuckart says SNAP will be bringing in extra staff to help with the influx of calls.

In addition to the phone line, people can also set up an appointment online at snapwa.org 24 hours a day after the appointments open up on January 6. In fact SNAP encourages people with web access to use their website - located on the web at snapwa.org - instead of the phone line since they won't have to wait on the phone to speak to someone.

For other questions about the heating assistance program SNAP says people can call (509) 456-7111.

SNAP warns that people who do get a heating assistance appointment may have to wait up to as much as 8 weeks for an appointment. They suggest that people work with their energy provider to figure out payment arrangements until their heating assistance appointment.