The North Carolina Office of the State Auditor has found that tens of millions of dollars for food assistance were delivered late to recipients.
The audit reviewed records involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.
It found that about $83 million in benefits were delayed statewide over a three-year period starting in 2021. That’s out of a total of nearly $16 billion in SNAP payments to North Carolinians over that time.
The slowest response came from Davidson County. About a quarter of payments were found to be late.
The audit wasn’t able to determine how late the benefits had arrived. It could have been one day or as many as 30 days.
In a statement, Davidson County Social Services Director Tricia Baker said the agency was dealing with staffing shortages during the audit period. The County Board of Commissioners approved money to help deal with the problem.
Baker says the most recent report from the state, covering the first week of October, found a 100 percent timeliness rate.
