Nikita Chase is a single mom with two children. Since October, she has yet to receive her food stamps.
“You’re supposed to get it on the first [of the month], but you’re not getting anything. And there’s no communication. So everybody’s just sitting, waiting, up in the air. And when you call, you get no answers,” she exclaimed.
Amid the pandemic, the state simplified the process of receiving SNAP benefits (the term “food stamps” was replaced with “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program” in 2008).
In 2021, over 80,000 Alaskans applied for SNAP coverage. In the Fall of 2022, the state asked Alaskans to reapply for the program.
Chase noted she sent in all paperwork in October but has yet to hear back or receive any benefits.
When she called the Alaska Division of Public Assistance for information, she was informed that over 100 other Alaskans were also waiting in line. She called again, just to be kept on hold for hours.
“Four and a half hours! Just to talk to somebody who then informed me that there were 18,000-plus cases that needed to be worked… This is happening to a lot of people, and they’re not getting these SNAP benefits, so they’re gonna have to make a choice between paying their bills or feeding their families.”
“Around Thanksgiving, you know, I call again. I’m asking these people for help, and to find out what’s going on. And they basically told me, there’s nothing that they can do. And that I just have to wait.”
Chase has stated that she won’t, and can’t, pay for electricity this month. She chose to spend it on much-needed food instead.
“We won’t be having a big Christmas dinner and things are a lot tighter… I’m concerned about when I will get food stamps or food benefits. I don’t know when that’s going to happen. So now instead of having freedom to buy a lot of fresh things at the store, everything’s either frozen or canned.”
Times are only becoming more difficult for hungry Alaskans. Local citizens mention that employees at the Alaska Division of Public Assistance are pleasant but can’t provide much help or information.
The division is laying low as more and more Alaskans are going hungry. There still needs to be word on how long applicants will need to wait or how to prepare for the months ahead.