A Raleigh mother says her family went an entire month without SNAP benefits this year after submitting her recertification paperwork early, forcing them to drain savings just to keep food on the table. Sky Hayden, a working mother whose daughter has disabilities, said she could not get answers from Wake County during the delay and eventually turned to a news outlet for help.
Hayden told ABC11 News that the gap in benefits created real financial hardship for her household, forcing the family to dip into savings to catch up on bills and provide for her daughter. She said she was frustrated by the lack of communication from the county and felt she had no other option but to go public with her story. Wake County officials told the station they could not comment on an individual's case.
County Says It Processes Thousands of Cases Monthly
Wake County says it strives to complete Food and Nutrition Services applications and reviews in a timely and accurate manner, and maintains it is meeting timeliness standards for applications. The county processes more than 4,200 FNS applications and more than 3,500 reviews each month, according to figures reported by ABC11, and it acknowledges that some households may still experience delays during the review process. Officials encourage families to return review forms promptly to help avoid holdups, saying case managers are working to complete cases as quickly as possible while still ensuring accuracy.
The county's own account of delays isn't new. Earlier Wake County SNAP recipients described similar frustrations to cbs17.com, with one mother saying, “I had to use our bill money to buy groceries,” while waiting on her recertification. The county told that outlet recertification processing can take anywhere from 31 days to 60 or 90 days, depending on when a case is submitted and whether paperwork — often income verification or proof of residency — is complete. To manage the volume, the county said it has leaned on overtime, temporary staffing and employees pulled from other programs.
Added Workload Without More Staff
That strain has deepened as new administrative demands pile onto county caseworkers. According to ncnewsline.com, Wake County has taken on additional SNAP administrative work without hiring more employees. More recently, nclocal.org reported that Stantavia Wright, who supervises food and nutrition services for Wake County Social Services, said the county is juggling support for recipients while also working to lower its 7.2% SNAP payment error rate, a balancing act that has meant reorganizing staff and giving extra scrutiny to higher-risk cases.
Hayden's worries aren't over. She said she is expecting another child and is already anxious about her next benefits review and recertification, due in six months, knowing that a new baby will mean added costs for formula and other supplies.
Food Insecurity Climbs Across the Region
The timing of Hayden's struggle lines up with a broader crisis described by the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, which reported record levels of food insecurity across its service area. The organization says more than 629,000 people are now food insecure across its 34-county area, a figure the food bank says represents the highest level in a generation, according to foodbankcenc.org.
Amy Beros, president and CEO of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, said need is at record highs and still increasing. “Current need exceeds levels at the height of the pandemic and is the highest in a generation,” Beros said, adding that working families and seniors on fixed incomes simply cannot stretch their resources any further. The food bank's data shows its region now has nearly 180,000 more food-insecure residents than at the peak of the pandemic, even as SNAP enrollment fell 12.2% between July 2025 and April 2026.
The food bank says families seeking help are struggling with rising grocery costs despite being employed or living on fixed incomes, and it is working with farmers, retailers and community partners to distribute more food. The organization is prioritizing protein and produce, saying those are the items neighbors report needing most and finding hardest to afford. Across its region, the food bank estimates one in seven people is now unsure where their next meal will come from, including one in five children.
Where Families Can Turn for Help
For households in the Triangle and surrounding communities looking for immediate support, the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina has encouraged people to contact its community outreach team by calling 1-800-358-8189. The organization also offers an online food finder tool to help residents locate nearby pantries. Hayden's case, and the county's broader processing backlog, underscore how administrative delays can collide with a hunger crisis that officials describe as unprecedented in scale.
