NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York City’s Human Resources Administration has been mired in delays fulfilling requests for food stamps that have impacted about 40% of applicants, a new report shows.
The rate of timely processing for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits fell from 92% to 60% between July 1 2021 and June 30 2022, according to the annual Mayor’s Management Report from the HRA.
SNAP benefits are sent to an electronic card that allows recipients to buy groceries. Eligibility is determined by income, and any delay could be the difference between eating and going hungry for some.
The HRA said it was overwhelmed by a massive number of new applications and the end of a program that allowed recipients to skip recertification processes during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic caused a massive influx in applications as the economy suffered and New Yorkers found it harder to put food on the table. The number of applications has risen by more than 50% since 2019.
There are currently about 1.7 million New Yorkers across about 1 million households enrolled in SNAP, a small decrease from the previous year, according to the report.
The influx in need has coincided with massive staffing losses for the HRA.
About 15% of the HRA’s over 13,000 positions were vacant at the end of 2021 according to the New York City Independent Budget Office. The number of vacant positions increased to about 20% by the end of October 2022.
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