Posted on August 11, 2011

Clayton County Food Stamp Snafu Angers Many

Justin Gray, My Fox (Atlanta), August 10, 2011

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.

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“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.

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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.”

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[Editor’s Note: According to this fact sheet, in 2009, Clayton County was 62.1 percent black, 30.4 percent white, and 12.2 percent Hispanic. Data compiled by the New York Times reveals that in June 2009, 25 percent of blacks and 11 percent of whites (a category which presumably includes Hispanics) were on food stamps.]