ATL Standard

Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, many Georgia SNAP recipients were hoping the state would come through on its promise to provide benefits to those who have struggled with bureaucratic problems. 

State officials were quiet about how many people were affected by the glitch that caused delays in reviewing applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known colloquially as SNAP. The problem left some families struggling to get food on the table for the holiday.

"I don’t think it’s fair to my kids to not have Thanksgiving," Jovi Iovine, who lives in Nashville, Georgia, said in a Fox News report that aired last week. "We’re OK right this second, but within a week, there’ll be nothing left for the kids.” 

In the report, the state said it was working to resolve the matter so families would at least have some assistance for the holiday. 

State officials blamed the problem on the fact that the number of people applying for the benefits has increased as inflation has had a stranglehold on the economy for months. That, coupled with staffing shortages, has affected the level of service the agency has been able to provide.

State officials told Fox they have taken some new proactive steps, including an attempt to ramp up hiring and to offer overtime to current staffers. In addition, the agency has now received a federal waiver that allows them to trigger benefits for people who have "pending renewals," surmising this should relieve some backlog pressure.