Bulk food purchased with the $1.68 million Gov. Mike Dunleavy put towards supporting food banks is staged for delivery in Food Bank of Alaska’s Anchorage warehouse on April 21, 2023. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska’s Department of Health risks losing federal funding for its food stamp program, warned a letter from the United States Department of Agriculture on Tuesday.
It said the department is out of compliance with federal standards for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program due to what it described as “inefficient and ineffective administration.”
The Department of Health has struggled to manage a backlog of crisis proportions that began in 2022 and has left tens of thousands of Alaskans waiting months for critical food aid.
Commissioner Heidi Hedberg has said the backlog was caused by a cyberattack, outdated computer systems and a huge influx of paperwork after the state ended its public health emergency . Sources inside and outside the division have said the problem traces back much further and that chronic understaffing and deep workforce cuts in 2021 are to blame.