Why Georgia needs a delay in the new SNAP cost shift

During the pandemic, America faced a hunger crisis.

News broadcasts and social media feeds showed lines of cars of people seeking food. The crisis felt unprecedented. Existential.

In response, the federal government deployed extraordinary levels of food and funding, giving food banks and other service providers resources to ensure communities had access to food.

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While the images of car lines have left our news feeds, we are facing a new hunger crisis, one that is less visible but greater than the COVID-era need.

Yet the federal response to this moment is far different.

Here’s how many Georgians seek charitable food

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Today’s crisis is one of affordability. Facing higher costs for gas and groceries, housing and healthcare, and with incomes rising more slowly, many of our neighbors can’t afford to live.

They’ve exhausted their savings. Maxed out credit cards. Fallen behind on bills and debts. Food has become part of a weekly shell game, juggling expenses and putting off other needs to put food on the table. As a result, more neighbors are relying on the charitable food system.

Over the last five years, the Atlanta Community Food Bank and our network of 700 community-based partners have experienced a 70% increase in the number of people seeking assistance.

We now serve between 250,000 and 275,000 households per month. One out of every eight of our neighbors in metro Atlanta and North Georgia seeks charitable food from pantries every month. One in eight. That is a shocking reality. It is unacceptable.

The federal response to the rising need suggests that lawmakers do not recognize this as a crisis. For three years, Congress has been unable to pass a new Farm Bill, which directs U.S. agriculture, food and conservation policies, authorizing food assistance for low-income families and support programs for farmers and rural communities.

Last year, Congress passed a budget reconciliation bill (HR1) that authorized substantial changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

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Instead of expanding support for food insecure families, it led to nearly 5 million people losing access to food assistance, including more than 100,000 Georgians, of whom, close to 40% are children.

Beyond this, additional changes to SNAP in HR1 could result in a massive reduction in the size and scale of the program.

Pass Farm Bill that strengthens food assistance

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

The law requires states to reduce their SNAP payment error rates — caused by unintentional paperwork and administrative errors made while administering the program, resulting in households receiving either too much food assistance, or too little. If states cannot maintain an error rate below 6%, they will be required to pay a percentage of SNAP benefits.

Georgia has one of the highest error rates. As a result, we will face one of the largest payment penalties — more than $500 million to cover the existing cost at the current error rate. If Georgia is unable to cover this gap, many families currently receiving SNAP benefits could see their benefits reduced or lost altogether.

Congress should expect states to operate SNAP accurately and efficiently. Doing so will help ensure families receive the benefits for which they’re eligible.

The Georgia Department of Human Services, the state agency that administers SNAP, launched a comprehensive effort to improve systems, processes, training and staffing, all aimed at improving program accuracy. But their efforts won’t improve error rates overnight.

Georgia and other states need more time to make changes. Doing so will help ensure program efficiency without negatively impacting families. Sticking to the current timeline will guarantee that vulnerable families will lose access to food.

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We are in a crisis and we need Congress to act. This is a time to provide more support to food insecure families, not less.

Pass a Farm Bill that strengthens food assistance programs and stabilizes farmers. Provide emergency relief to farmers that includes providing food to food banks, so we can connect more of our neighbors with food. Delay the cost-shift timeline that will impose large payment penalties on states for not lowering their SNAP error rates quickly enough. Above all, recognize that we are in a hunger crisis and take action to address it.

When we look back on this time, what will be the story of our response to this crisis? Did we step up, work together, and respond by deploying resources to strengthen those in need? Or did we allow food insecurity to damage families, communities and, ultimately, our broader economy? We have a choice to make. Let’s hope Congress makes the right one.

Kyle Waide is the president and CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, leading a network of 700 community-based partners to provide hunger relief across 29 Georgia counties.

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About the Author

Kyle Waide

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