NC Health Department says full SNAP benefits to be issued throughout November

This story has been updated with additional information. The state health department confirmed full SNAP benefits would being issued to eligible recipients through November.

ASHEVILLE – Partial benefits for eligible recipients of SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, began to be issued the morning of Nov. 7, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

In an afternoon announcement the same day, the state health department said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fully fund SNAP benefits for the rest of November, with beneficiaries possibly seeing the additional funds on their EBT cards as soon as the weekend.

“The delay in benefits is already impacting hundreds of thousands of people in North Carolina who rely on SNAP,” the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, state health department spokesperson Summer Tonizzo told the Citizen Times in a Nov. 6 email. She confirmed in a Nov. 7 email that partial benefits had begun.

“NCDHHS is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to update partners and beneficiaries.”

In a Nov. 6 update, David Sweat, Buncombe County’s director of Health and Human Services, said the county’s “sole focus” is mitigating the impact of the shutdown on individuals and families.

Also on Nov. 6, a federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to fully fund food assistance for 42 million Americans by Nov. 7.

In the county, more than 29,000 individuals are enrolled in SNAP.

People will see a reduction in benefits for November that will vary depending on the amount they usually receive. The U.S. Department of Agriculture — which funds the program — directed states to issue benefits at a 50% reduction of maximum allotments.

That means they could get up to half what they normally do, Sweat said, “but it might be less, it just depends on some formulas that have to be applied per USDA guidance.”

The state health department is updating its payment system according to department of agriculture’s specifications. Sweat said the county has been told the vendor used by North Carolina must “reprogram” the system to enable partial benefits to be loaded onto EBT cards — which works like a debit card and can be used to buy food from participating stores.

“That work is going on, and we have been assured that as soon as they are able to, they will begin loading the cards,” he said. Right now, they are “kind of at the mercy of the IT systems and the payment vendors.”

Tonizzo with the health department said Nov. 6 the agency is “working quickly to add partial benefits for November on EBT cards based on USDA’s directive.”

SNAP serves more than 622,000 households in the state. A Nov. 4 health department news release said people are feeling the impact of the delay in funds.

At the beginning of November, more than 60% of beneficiaries had $25 or less on their accounts and more than 30% had less than $1. The median balance on EBT cards was $5.43.

To help fill the gap, the county launched a food drive to support MANNA FoodBank, accepting food donations at 12 library locations. As of Nov. 6, it had collected 5,000 pounds of food.

The city of Asheville designated several community centers as food drop-off sites, with donated food to be distributed to local food pantries and distribution agencies.

Nonprofits like MANNA, which serves more than 137,000 Western North Carolina residents each month, and Swannanoa Valley-based Bounty & Soul worked to expand their capacity and distribution efforts in preparation for the increased need in food assistance, the Citizen Times reported ahead of the pause.

“But let’s be really clear: For every meal the foodbank provides, SNAP can provide nine,” Sweat said. “So this effort is not going to replace the benefits that have been lost, but they sure do help.”

Paula Sellars, Bounty & Soul’s deputy director, said in a Nov. 6 statement that since Oct. 30, the number of households served by the nonprofit’s fresh produce markets has risen by 21%.

“It’s important to recognize that the deposits onto SNAP cards are rolling from the 1st through 21st of each month, so we are not yet in range of experiencing the full effect,” she said.

Other shutdown impacts?

• Benefits under the Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, program, are fully funded through the end of the November, Sweat said. The program provides food, breastfeeding support, nutrition education and other services to approximately 262,000 people across the state.

• The Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, also federally funded, will see one-time automatic payments paid to vendors on behalf of households, but no additional funding is available beyond the end of the month unless the federal government passes a budget that includes it.

• The county’s Head Start preschool program received its funding allocation at the beginning of the federal fiscal year and is funded through Dec. 31.

• Free meals in public school will continue without interruption, based on information he has now, Sweat said.

With SNAP benefits delayed or reduced in November, the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project is providing “emergency gap support” for community members who need food assistance, it said in a Nov. 5 post.

Made possible through a donor, SNAP-eligible shoppers can get $40 in market tokens to spend on food from local farms and vendors at the Asheville City Market each Saturday through the month of November. The market runs from 9 a.m. to noon on North Market Street, between Woodfin and Walnut streets, in downtown Asheville.

Current SNAP disruptions hurt farmers who are losing income from customers who use SNAP to buy food locally, the post said. This comes at a time when farmers have already lost income due to the termination of other state and federal food access programs and are still recovering from Helene.

Sweat said the county does not know if November SNAP benefits might eventually be paid in full, but its economic services team is open and fully staffed, and residents should continue to apply for SNAP benefits so they are in the system when funding is restored.

“While we are working as a community to fill these gaps at the local level, the real solution lies at the federal government level with a resolution that restores stability for families and provides resources that the community needs, all of this country need, to thrive,” Sweat said.

Need help? Free food in Asheville area

The Buncombe County Register of Deeds. The office at 205 College St. in downtown Asheville, operates a diaper bank during regular hours with free diapers, baby wipes and baby formula. Visit buncombenc.gov/m/NewsFlash/Home/Detail/204.

MANNA FoodBank. The Food Finder Tool, at mannafoodbank.org/where-to-get-help/, provides a map of MANNA FoodBank’s more than 220 nonprofit pantries, meal sites and other community-based organizations offering free food across 16 Western North Carolina counties, including the Qualla Boundary. For further assistance, call or text the Food Helpline between 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday at 828-290-9749.

Bounty & Soul. Multiple markets, offering free produce and other whole foods, operate throughout the weekend in Asheville, Black Mountain, Fairview and Swannanoa. View the locations and schedule at bountyandsoul.org/community/market-schedule/.

YMCA of Western North Carolina. The free mobile food markets travel across the region, including to parks, libraries, health system offices and neighborhood hubs across Asheville, Candler, Clyde, Hendersonville, Leicester, Marshall, Marion, Mills River and Old Fort. View the schedule and locations at ymcawnc.org/programs/community/food-programs. The YMCA is offering financial assistance for memberships and programs for those affected by the shutdown. Call 828-251-5910 or email [email protected] for details.

Asheville Poverty Initiative/12 Baskets Café. The café opens at 10 a.m. for free coffee and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. for free lunch service and store on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 610 Haywood Road in West Asheville. For more, visit ashevillepovertyinitiative.org/12baskets.

Haywood Street Congregation/Downtown Welcome Table. Free lunch is served from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesdays at 297 Haywood St. in Asheville. Meals are served family-style, with seating every half hour by checking into the reservation booth. For group seating, email [email protected] or call 828-575-2477, ext. 301. For more, visit haywoodstreet.org/downtown-welcome-table/.

Southside Community Farm. The Southside Free Grocery Program serves the Southside neighborhood, a food desert, by providing an outdoor pantry and refrigerator stocked with produce grown at the urban farm. Locations include the Edington Center (133 Livingston St.), Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center (285 Livingston St.) and the South French Free Fridge and pantry (382 South French Broad Ave.) For more locations and details, visit southsidecommunitygarden.org.

Food Connection. Fresh free meals are distributed from Food Connection “Beyond the Bus Line” distribution sites, including in Candler, Fairview, Leicester, Swannanoa and Weaverville. For the schedule and locations, visit food-connection.org.

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email [email protected] or message on Twitter at @slhonosky.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC health department: full SNAP benefits to be paid through November