Food Stamps: Thousands of people are left waiting far longer than usual to have their SNAP application approved

The biggest anti-hunger program in the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) assists low-income households in achieving food security. Your state agency has to approve the application for SNAP in 30 days, or 7 days if you are eligible for expedited SNAP, assuming your household satisfies the eligibility conditions. Some homes are waiting months, though.

Tens of thousands of Georgians are still waiting for SNAP benefits, which has been affecting families irregularly over the past year due to the Department of Human Services (DHS) inability to handle cases under federal regulations, as per 11Alive.

11Alive was able to get private emails among Georgia’s DHS leaders and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget via an open records request. The DHS also mentioned that “internal predictions are open to change.” The emails addressed the department’s use of extra to address the backlog and suggested that it might take until January 31, 2024, to fix the issue.