GA DFCS issues food stamp benefits on a staggered schedule in March 2019

ATLANTA – Ongoing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants can anticipate receiving two distributions during the month of March.  

The Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) announced Tuesday that recipients of SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) will have access to half of their monthly benefits on or about March 2 and that the other half will be made available on the date of their regular monthly issuance. 

February benefits were issued early on Jan. 14 because of the partial shutdown of the federal government. The split release for March is designed to ensure recipients get some benefits as early as possible to replenish their pantries while restoring the normal distribution schedule.

For March only, Georgia will divide benefits into two distributions for recipients of ongoing benefits. Timing the second distribution to reflect each person’s regular monthly benefit date will resume the normal staggered schedule (typically the fifth thru 23rd of the month). Current ongoing SNAP recipients will access half of their March benefits via their electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards the first week of March and will have to wait until their regularly scheduled issuance date for the other half to be loaded onto their EBT cards. 

What this means is that clients who received their last issuance on Jan. 23 will receive their first March issuance within 37 days on March 2.  Clients who received their last issuance on Jan.14 will receive their first March issuance within 46 days, also on March 2.  Issuing the remaining March benefits on the staggered schedule, will allow distributions in April and future months to remain on the normal issuance cycle.

While all ongoing SNAP households will receive their initial March benefits on March 2, they will need to use the last two digits of their assigned Client ID number to determine the date of their final March allotment. For example, a customer with an ID number of 123456789 has last 2 digits of 89 and – according to the chart below – can expect to receive the second half of their benefits on March 21.

Georgia DFCS is working closely with its EBT vendor, Conduent, and with the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to provide this staggered delivery of March benefits for all ongoing SNAP recipients. 

Approximately 1.6 million Georgians rely on SNAP assistance to feed their families. SNAP benefits are generally released over a 19-day cycle between the fifth day and 23rd day of each month.

Georgians who have trouble using their EBT card or needing to check the status of their benefits should call 1-888-421-3281. Account information is also available 24 hours a day through the Georgia Gateway online site at https://gateway.ga.gov/access.

DFCS will post ongoing updates, on the agency website at https://dfcs.georgia.gov/.