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“See if you can’t make arrangements to get in here on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday when we’re here … You could have somebody else come over for you and get some stuff. We’d be very happy to help you out.”

That’s a portion of one of many similar phone conversations Chard Wray Food Pantry volunteers have recently had with people in need of groceries for their homes. The caller Thursday morning was a young mother who works a 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift job. Her schedule makes it tough to get to the food pantry during its 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesday through Thursday hours of operation. But as one can tell from volunteer Jill Rochon’s response, the food pantry is willing to make accommodations for people in those circumstances. 

Demand at the local food pantry has reached a peak in recent months, according to volunteers. That’s partially due to higher prices at grocery stores, but also because the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) is experiencing what it is calling a “backlog” of unprocessed SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. Currently there are many Georgians who qualify for the federally-funded program that helps low-income families buy groceries, but those benefits have not been received because there are more applications than DHS can process in a timely manner. 

“For weeks, Georgia Department of Human Services staff have been working tirelessly to resolve a backlog of SNAP renewals, with employees working overtime and taking on extra duties to process cases before Thanksgiving. While this work continues, some renewals are still overdue,” the state agency said in a Nov. 22 statement. 

And so qualified Georgians’ electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards sit devoid of their SNAP benefits.

DHS encourages clients in need of immediate food assistance to utilize food banks across the state. 

People are taking the agency’s advice. 

“We have had more people come through because they don’t have their benefits,” Rochon told the newspaper. “Those [EBT] cards aren’t being certified, so they can’t go to the grocery store.”

Rochon, who has volunteered at Chard Wray Food Pantry for several years, has noticed an uptick in demand over the last 14 months. Where there used to be 15 to 20 cars come in each day, now it’s more like 40. 

“It’s practically doubled,” she said. 

There are still calls coming in from people who have never before visited the food pantry. Rochon counted eight voicemails Thursday morning.

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