Alaska's 69% drop in food stamp recipients over the past year shows the full scale of a crisis that left tens of thousands of Alaskans without food aid for months on end, amid a massive backlog in applications.
Volunteer Andrea Stein stocked shelves in the agency shopping room at the Food Bank of Alaska off Viking Drive in Anchorage on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023.
While more than half of states actually had an increase in SNAP beneficiaries, among those that saw a decline, none came anywhere close to the 69% drop in participation Alaska experienced through this spring. Behind Alaska, Maryland saw a 21% decrease, Arkansas saw a 19% decrease and New Jersey saw a 14% decrease between March 2022 and March 2023.from the U.S.
In addition to the backlog, Durr said the dramatic drop likely also reflected the challenges that many Alaskans were experiencing during the winter and fall with getting through to the state’s then-overwhelmed call center for help with their applications. The call center was at the time reporting hourslong wait times.
The drop-off in participants began last August, around the time the state received an influx of recertification applications in advance of Alaska’s pandemic-era Emergency Allotment Program expiring in September.
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