Clayton County Food Stamp Snafu Angers Many

Updated: Wednesday, 10 Aug 2011, 4:55 AM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 10 Aug 2011, 4:55 AM EDT

Justin Gray

Justin
Gray

By JUSTIN GRAY/myfoxatlanta

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - Anger and frustration from dozens of Clayton County

parents who say their children are going hungry after their food stamps were

suddenly cut off.

State officials admit that something went wrong down in Clayton County at

the office that administers food stamps and Medicaid but they're still not

sure what.

Parents say they can't buy food without those food stamps.

Terry Clark says she stood in line for more than six hours at Clayton

County's Human Services Office because food stamp help for her six children

unexpectedly ended.

"There's no telling my kids we can't eat. I'm not taking no. We don't

deserve that. Nobody should go hungry here in Georgia," said Terry Clark.

State officials say the office was overwhelmed Tuesday with dozens of

families facing a similar problem. The food stamps are just not there.

"Me and my kids they haven't ate since this morning. I was supposed to get

my food stamps yesterday and I got nothing," said a mother.

A state spokesperson says what happened was out of the ordinary and

unexpected but she said they don't know yet what went wrong -- what was the

glitch that lead to this mess?

"Our budgets have not been increased, they've been decreased," said one

official.

The office director admitted there were problems as he tried to calm fears.

In a statement, a state spokesperson says, "We have both state and county

staff working to understand the cause of the problem today. We are working

to ensure people receive their food stamps as soon as possible."

"I'm a cancer patient. I need these pills to survive," said Candace Bennett.

Candace Bennett says her cancer medications have nearly run out and after

spending all day at the office. Her Medicaid and her food stamps are both

still on hold.

State officials say that the Clayton County office was closed Monday because

of furloughs and that could have contributed to the lines. They are

investigating whether some sort of paperwork or computer problem might have

lead to some families getting their benefits cut off by mistake.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Clayton-County-Food-Stamp-Sn

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