Record numbers seek food stamps
Lawmakers fault the state for slow response to assist
Just as Marylanders have been applying for unemployment assistance in droves during the coronavirus pandemic, they’ve also turned in a record number of applications for food stamps — and lawmakers are concerned that the state hasn’t been doing enough to keep up.
In April alone, nearly 70,000 Maryland residents applied for food stamps, well more than double the number of applications in a typical month.
The state Department of Human Services, which oversees the program, revamped its workflow and bought more than 2,700 laptops so employees can process applications at home.
Still, nearly 300 state workers have been at home with no computers and no ability to process applications. Department officials said their laptops were on the way.
“The cumulative actions taken by our agency since March have provided timely reassurance to our most vulnerable citizens that their needs will continue to be met,” Human Resources Secretary Lourdes R. Padilla said in a statement.
State lawmakers expressed frustration at what they see as a slow response to thousands of residents who are in desperate need of help to keep their families fed.
“This is a major, major problem,” said Del. Talmadge Branch, a Baltimore Democrat. “They are way behind.”
Branch is among House of Delegates leaders who have pressed the Department of Human Services on its response to the surge in applications. Several weeks into the pandemic, state employees being paid to work at home still weren’t able to review applications.
“That, to me, is galling,” said Del. Stephanie Smith, a Democrat who chairs Baltimore’s House delegation. “When we talk about fiscal waste, we have people designated to help people get these benefits sitting at home getting paid doing nothing, and someone in dire straits can’t get closer to a benefit.”
Smith has been pressing for approval to use SNAP benefits for online grocery delivery. In response to posts about that issue on social media, she said she’s heard from many people who have been waiting to get approved for benefits.
After a private conference call with the department more than a week ago, the delegates followed up with a public hearing before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
“There are a lot of problems,” said Del. Maggie McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat.
McIntosh said she gives the department the benefit of the doubt that “nobody saw this [rush of applications] coming.” But she said the agency could have acted faster to handle the flood of applicants.
“What you had was this incredible influx of people who had lost their jobs, were applying for unemployment insurance, were applying for food stamps to help feed their families,” McIntosh said. “In my view, both agencies were crippled by the influx and were not prepared to deal with what we have seen.”
The state’s unemployment insurance program, run by the Maryland Department of Labor, also has been flooded with record numbers of applicants. Out-of-work Marylanders have been consistently frustrated with a buggy online application system and the inability to get help over the phone or by email.
McIntosh, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said food stamps are especially crucial in Baltimore, where large numbers of residents already faced issues with access to food before the pandemic.
The school system, city government and nonprofit groups have put together various efforts to distribute meals and groceries in the city. Schools are serving thousands of meals to adults — even though they don’t expect to get help from the federal government in paying for that food — rather than turn away hungry residents.
The Human Resources department said it is trying to accommodate the crush of applications.
Previously, SNAP applications were handled from start to finish by local social services offices in each county. Starting in April, the state moved to a “statewide process management model” where each office is assigned one step of the process, such as screening or verifying eligibility.
The department says the new model will be more efficient.