State faces SNAP backlog, causing payment delays

RHEA COUNTY — Implementation of a new Tennessee Department of Human Services agency software has left many SNAP recipients facing food insecurity.

According to FeedingAmerica.org, nearly 1 million Tennessee residents face hunger and of that number almost 200,000 of those facing hunger are children under the age of 18.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Rhea County had a population of nearly 34,000 as of 2022. Of the 34,000 Rhea County citizens, almost 28 percent were children under the age of 18. In 2021, 17 percent of Rhea County households fell beneath the poverty line with the median household income of just under $49,000 per year.

As of 2021, 6,000 people received SNAP benefits in Rhea County

Nationally, more than 65 percent of SNAP recipients are families with children, in Tennessee that number is 71 percent. Of the number of snap recipients in Tennessee, more than 37 percent are working families with at least one household income.

The new system implementation has found some families cut off from much needed benefits for months at a time despite no changes in household circumstances.

Normally, applicants can expect to receive notice of approval or denial within 30 days; however, many applicants have been left waiting more than two months.

Leaders of Tennessee Department of Human Services said they expect a delay of at least two more months before the new system implementation has taken place and the surplus of back-logged applications are sorted out.