After troubled rollout, state extends deadline for new food aid program

A sign outside of a store in midtown Anchorage announcing that they accept EBT Cards, the distribution method for SNAP benefits. (Photo by Hillman/Alaska Public Media)
A sign outside of a store in midtown Anchorage announcing  in 2017 that they accept EBT Cards, the distribution method for SNAP benefits. (Photo by Anne Hillman/Alaska Public Media)

The State of Alaska has extended the deadline for families to enroll in a new federal program that will provide up to $458 per child to help pay for groceries.

Tens of thousands of school-aged children in Alaska are eligible for the pandemic-EBT program. Families now have until the end of September to enroll in the benefits.

Shawnda O’Brien, the director of Alaska’s Division of Public Assistance, says the state pushed the deadline back a month after hearing from Alaskans — many in rural parts of the state — who did not know about the program and did not receive a notice to enroll.

“It was becoming apparent that many people in communities around Alaska had not received the notice yet,” O’Brien said. “And so, you know, the right thing to do was to extend the deadline.”

A number of issues and delays had led to a troubled rollout of the new benefits program in Alaska.

O’Brien says her division had to wait on a lot of data from the education department. Then a computer system crashed. She says the division didn’t have the tech support resources to set up an online form, so it mailed paper ones to about thirty-one-thousand Alaskans.

Then there were mail delays.

“I think all of us have experienced that mail delay issue, whether you’re in Juneau or Anchorage or anywhere else in the state, which it’s considerably more challenging the further away you are from main hubs,” O’Brien said.

The Food Bank of Alaska has stepped in to provide an online form plus a text message and call-in service to help people enroll.

Food Bank spokeswoman Cara Durr says the new program is meant to reimburse families for their added food expenses when the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to suddenly close this spring.

“We know that many families are still struggling, you know, with loss of jobs or cut hours,” Durr said. “And so I think it’s timely, and it’s going to be a really important resource to help families put food on the table.”

Durr says families are eligible for the new program if their children received free or reduced-price meals at school this spring, or if they went to a school with a free lunch program. She encouraged Alaskans to fill out the forms as soon as possible.

Eligible families that already receive SNAP benefits are automatically enrolled.

Alaska Public Media

Alaska Public Media is one of our partner stations in Anchorage. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.

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