MACON, Ga. — The Georgia department of human services says if you've yet to see your snap benefits, it’s because they're dealing with an increase of renewals, inflation, and a worker shortage. Some say it's crippling thousands of Georgians just before the holidays as they try to feed their families.
For many Georgians looking for answers about their SNAP benefits, an automated system is as far they get.
"No, I haven't had anything. No emails, messages, nothing," Alexis Patterson- Maxwell said.
SNAP is the supplemental nutrition assistance program, the federally funded benefit that helps needy families put food on the table. From Georgia to Hawaii, thousands say their SNAP benefits have been delayed for weeks, even months. In Houston County Alexis Patterson-Maxwell says like many, she was told to complete a renewal form. Once she completed it, there were more changes.
"I did it before Sept. 31, and then why I got my actual stamps for that month, I got them on time but the next month, October, they changed my date to the 31, it was normally the 13th, the 31 has come and gone. Haven't been able to get in contact with anybody," Patterson-Maxwell explained.
13WMAZ's Caleesha Moore stood outside DFACS offices in Houston and In Bibb County that's where she found Deborah Taylor. She told me as a senior citizen, single parent, and caretaker of her grandchildren, the benefits are crucial, especially for the holidays.
"I want to look into my food stamps to make sure that I have enough food to feed my family," she said.
We asked the Georgia Department of Human Services about the delay.
They sent us this statement:
"Due to inflation and workforce shortages, we are working through increased volume for SNAP applications and renewals. We continue to explore ways to secure more flexibility from the federal government to process cases more quickly and efficiently..."
"They said that they were behind, but, hopefully, we will get our food stamps before Thanksgiving, hopefully," Taylor said.
We asked DFACS whether they would formally respond to Georgians seeking answers about benefits and whether they will have answers before Thanksgiving, they did not respond.