Food stamp applicants struggle to get through Missouri call center line

In normal times, the Missouri Bootheel has the highest rates of hunger in the state.

“But when the pandemic hit, it made an already bad situation much worse,” said Lisa Church, chief advancement officer of the Southeast Missouri Food Bank.

The organization’s pantries and mobile food distribution were seeing as many as three times more people coming for food assistance in the initial months.

The 16 counties that the food bank serves — located in the southeastern corner of the state — have also seen the highest rates of food-stamp applicants these past months, according to the Missouri Department of Social Services’ dashboard on social impact.

But in November, about half of those applications were rejected — a sharp increase from the months prior.

Read more: https://missouriindependent.com/2020/12/28/food-stamp-applicants-struggle-to-get-through-missouri-call-center-line/