ATLANTA — Georgia's Department of Human Services said on Wednesday that an issue holding up SNAP food assistance payments to many people, who have been stuck in limbo over the renewal process, should largely be resolved.
According to DHS, people who have had their renewal paperwork completed for renewals between August and October have now had their benefits processed, regardless of if their renewal has been completed it not. DHS said those renewals will be moved to February, and the recipients "will receive benefits in the interim."
The agency also tweeted early Wednesday: "Check your EBT cards! SNAP benefits have been deposited for customers with pending renewals from August-October 2022 who completed their paperwork on time."
The state previously issued statements describing a backlog (though they did not use that specific term) that had held up fully processing renewals for many recipients - and, in turn, an inability to distribute their payments.
“Due to inflation and workforce shortages, we are working through increased volume for SNAP applications and renewals,” a spokesperson said a week ago. “We continue to explore ways to secure more flexibility from the federal government to process cases more quickly and efficiently. At the state level, we will also offer overtime for staff.”
DHS said over the weekend it had been given a federal waiver to begin distributing payments to people even if their renewals were still pending.
"The federal government has approved Georgia's waiver request to extend SNAP benefits for no more than six months for customers with pending renewals from August-October 2022. Our vendor that administers the Gateway portal will work through the weekend to make the appropriate system updates to trigger benefits for these customers before the Thanksgiving holiday," a statement said.
Many people began contacting 11Alive on Wednesday, saying that their benefits had in fact now come through.