In Juneau — and across the country — schools have been using COVID aid to help homeless students in ways they’ve never been able to before. That help may end soon if federal officials don’t act.
"alaska food stamp backlog"
Alaska lawmaker says systemic changes to food stamps program will reduce backlog, save money
Since late 2022, paperwork processing failures at the agency left thousands of vulnerable Alaskans without food aid for months at a time.
Alaska must face food stamp litigation after a year of stays, court says
In January, 10 Alaskans sued the state because they said the Department of Health failed to provide food stamps within the time frames required by federal law.
State launches new online application for food assistance as work to address backlog continues
It’s part of the state’s effort to revamp the food assistance system to speed up application processing, as some Alaskans have waited months for their benefits.
Dunleavy proposes $14 million in food stamp crisis fixes
Alaska’s backlog of SNAP applications doubled between August and November.
Alaskans again wait months for food stamps; workers union blames policy choices
The state got the backlog down to 6,000 people in August, but it has swollen to more than 12,000 since.