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County And State Workers Processing Food Stamp Applications Before Monday Deadline

NC Department of Health and Human Services logo
NC Department of Health and Human Services

Officials with the state Department of Health and Human Services say they've made great strides in reducing a backlog of food stamp recipients who weren't receiving their benefits. The USDA had issued the state a warning that unless it reduced the backlog of claims before a Monday deadline, North Carolina could lose 88 million dollars' worth of funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Julie Henry is a spokeswoman for DHHS. "As of January 23rd there were a large number of cases that had yet to be processed in our counties. And over the last two weeks, through a very focused effort on the part of the counties and by our state staff supporting counties, we've been able to reduce that number by more than 92 percent," says Henry.

Henry says state and county workers are set to work this weekend to process the remaining applications in order to meet Monday's deadline.

Jessica Jones covers both the legislature in Raleigh and politics across the state. Before her current assignment, Jessica was given the responsibility to open up WUNC's first Greensboro Bureau at the Triad Stage in 2009. She's a seasoned public radio reporter who's covered everything from education to immigration, and she's a regular contributor to NPR's news programs. Jessica started her career in journalism in Egypt, where she freelanced for international print and radio outlets. After stints in Washington, D.C. with Voice of America and NPR, Jessica joined the staff of WUNC in 1999. She is a graduate of Yale University.
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