![]() ![]() Pemiscot is the county at the furthest southeastern tip of the state. In October, the county with the highest rate of food-stamp applications was Pemiscot, with 1,298 applications received per 100,000 people. “I don’t think it is a stretch to say that this is due to interviews not getting completed,” Holley said. She said it’s alarming for many agencies who work with food-insecure clients that the percentage of applications being rejected is so high. Many other Legal Services clients, and those from their partnering agencies, have experienced the same difficulties.īecause the local DSS offices are closed, the call center is the only way for people to complete their applications. ![]() She was never able to get through, and her client’s application was rejected. ![]() Katherine Holley, an attorney with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, which provides legal aid to vulnerable residents, said she once called the call center for seven days straight for a homeless client in October. But the number of first-time or initial applications is very high. Those working with food-insecure families said they hope this will help the relieve the call center’s volume. “It is important for Missourians to understand an interview is still required when they first apply for SNAP,” said Jennifer Tidball, acting director of DSS, “and that they must provide any requested information and complete and submit the recertification form they receive from the Family Support Division to ensure continuous SNAP benefits.” 28, Missourians already receiving SNAP benefits and want to continue with the program will only need to complete and submit a recertification form. In effort to address the “historic” high call volume for interviews, DSS received approval from the federal government on Wednesday to suspend recertification interviews - or interviews for people who have been on food stamps previously and need to renew every 12 to 24 months. Depending on their category of need, applicants have between seven and 30 days to complete this interview or their application will be rejected. Missouri has a call center designated for these interviews. Then in the summer, the federal government began requiring most states to resume the interviews, but allowed the interviews to be conducted by phone. However, in the beginning months of the pandemic, the federal Food and Nutrition Service waived this requirement for Missouri and many states. When a person applies for food stamps during normal times, they have to complete an in-person interview with DSS staff. The exact reason is unclear, but one possible culprit might be that many are facing long wait times as they try to call and finalize their applications. That’s up from 27 percent being rejected in October and 37 percent in September. In total, the state received 58,627 applications for food stamps in November, and nearly 44 percent of them were rejected. Francois County had the largest number of applicants in the southeast region with 860 applications, and 45.1 percent of them were rejected.īut this trend is not unique to the Bootheel. In Bollinger County, 53.5 percent of applicants to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were rejected, according to the department’s November monthly report. The 16 counties that the food bank serves - located in the southeastern corner of the state - have also seen the highest rates of food-stamp applicants these past months, according to the Missouri Department of Social Services’ dashboard on social impact.īut in November, about half of those applications were rejected - a sharp increase from the months prior. The organization’s pantries and mobile food distribution were seeing as many as three times more people coming for food assistance in the initial months. ![]() “But when the pandemic hit, it made an already bad situation much worse,” said Lisa Church, chief advancement officer of the Southeast Missouri Food Bank. In normal times, the Missouri Bootheel has the highest rates of hunger in the state. ![]()
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