Isolated areas of Puerto Rico still remain without food since Hurricane Maria struck on September 20.

FERN's Ag Insider reported this week that even in areas of San Juan, people were rationing supplies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said devastating winds damaged 80 percent of Puerto Rico's crops.

The USDA says it is delivering aid boxes, each containing about 9 to 16 pounds of food, to an estimated 500,000 households across the country.

The agency is also delivering food to 179 shelters for an estimated 11,000 people displaced in the disaster, and lifted restrictions on food stamp benefits and special programs for women, infants and children.

The Trump Administration's response has come under fire, amid concerns that supplies were not delivered swiftly enough, hampered by poor transportation and logistical delays at air and seaports.

Meanwhile, the administration has granted a waiver that allows the island's food stamp recipients to purchase hot food at stores through the end of November.

Hot foods are normally off limits for Nutritional Assistance Program credits.

About 40 percent of the island's population depends on food stamps, but most of the country still remains without power to prepare meals.

The governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, had earlier claimed the Trump administration turned down the request for a hot-food waiver, but a USDA spokesperson told Newsweek and other media that was not the case.

Read More:

• Aid Is Getting to Puerto Rico. Distributing It Remains a Challenge (New York Times)
• In Isolated Regions Of Puerto Rico, Food Is Rationed (FERN's Ag Insider)
• Hurricane Maria: USDA Waives Food Stamp Restriction In Puerto Rico, Spokesperson Says (Newsweek)