FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ashe County Department of Social Services Announces Update on
Food and Nutrition Benefits
Jefferson, NC, October 31 --- The Federal Government shut down has created a disruption in the flow of money for recipients of Food and Nutrition Services. At the current time, we do not anticipate the November benefits being deposited onto recipients’ EBT cards on the usual schedule. We understand the importance of these benefits and how families rely upon them.
If recipients currently have benefits on their EBT card, those monies are still there and available to be spent; these will not be taken away. If a recipient does not know what benefit amount they currently have available on their card, they can check their card balance from the ebtEDGE app or by calling the number on the back of their card.
It is important to know that once the Federal Government resolves this current situation, and the USDA gets the clearance to issue the benefits, the NC Department of Health and Human Services has made provisions for those benefits to flow rapidly to recipients’ accounts. The NC Attorney General is taking legal action against the Federal Government demanding that these benefits be paid. The NC Department of Health and Human Services is keeping an updated message on their website with the latest developments. The future holds great hope that this situation will be resolved.
We understand this situation is stressful, but want the public to know that Ashe DSS is working to help during this time. Those in need of assistance may always call their case worker with any questions. The main number for Ashe DSS remains 336-846-5719. Ashe DSS is initiating a No One Should Be Hungry Food Drive where we can help fill our County Food Pantries. We will be placing collection boxes, on November 4 and 5, in the Courthouse, both Jefferson and West Jefferson Town Halls, Ashe Memorial Hospital, the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, as well as other area locations to help gather additional nonperishable food items. We are in hopes that the Second Harvest Mobile Food Pantry will return to Ashe DSS soon and are working to secure this. Please check out the Ashe DSS Facebook for updates about this resource.
Finally, we are launching the Ashe Food Council to bring the leaders in the food distribution arena together to identify gaps, develop strategies to address those gaps, and work together to support our community to improve food security and systems, not just for today but for the future.
If you need additional food to help you get through this time, I would invite you to check out the list of food pantries in our community on the Ashe DSS website under the community resources tab.
