Atlanta

Georgia officials put out resource map for those waiting on SNAP benefits during delay

By Sam Sachs
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By Sam Sachs

ATLANTA — Amid a weeks-long backlog of renewals for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, popularly known as food stamps, the Georgia Department of Human Services has put out a list of resources to help those in need.

According to DHS, a backlog of SNAP renewals has led to some renewals being overdue. The update comes shortly after the department announced issues with some renewals being approved despite the process not having completed.

As a result, they’ve put out a resource map to help families in need find places to get immediate assistance across the state of Georgia.

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This is one of several SNAP benefits issues to impact Georgians in recent weeks.

As previously reported, on Oct. 18, DHS announced they’d gotten to replace stolen benefits from the SNAP program, for Georgians whose benefits may have been stolen between Oct. 1, 2022 and Oct. 18, 2023. Any benefits believed to have been stolen after that date must be reported within 30 days.

Additionally, state officials told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Justin Gray they are considering using an artificial intelligence program to potentially address backlog issues they say are due to a lack of manpower in DHS.

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To assist with providing meals to Georgia families, especially during the holidays, DHS donated $2.8 million to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

The map provided by DHS links to a locator operated by the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

According to the nonprofit food bank, about 8.4% or one in 12 people in their 29-county service area are food insecure, and of those, one in eight children in the area are food insecure, meaning they need help getting proper nutrition.

The most recently available data on SNAP use in Georgia, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, showed there were about 1.3 million residents using the benefits program in August 2023. The data was published Nov. 9.

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