Peach Tree Times

Georgia officials are pledging to soon provide full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to a number of people who have been denied needed food assistance over several weeks due to bureaucratic problems within the system, according to a recent by FOX 5 Atlanta. 

While state officials have been mum about the actual number of people impacted by the snafu—which reportedly involved delays in reviewing applications for SNAP benefits—some families have been unable to afford the food benefits over the recent Thanksgiving holiday.

"I don’t think it’s fair to my kids to not have Thanksgiving," Jori Iovine, who lives in Nashville, Georgia, told FOX 5 Atlanta. "We’re okay, right this second. But within a week, there’ll be nothing left for the kids."

According to the report, state officials indicate the number of people now applying for the benefits has increased with the rise of inflation across the country, adding that staffing issues have also affected the level of service the agency has been able to quickly provide.

State officials say they have taken some new proactive steps, including ramping up hiring and offering 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.