Georgia Democrats are urging Gov. Kemp to use part of the state’s $14.6 billion surplus to prevent the cutoff.

Food pantries in Georgia are bracing for impacts as benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, won’t be renewed in November.

"Our state leaders should be planning to support Georgians who will lose SNAP if there is no federal action," Floyd said. "The state should support the emergency food system, like our food banks. However, food banks and community pantries can’t carry this burden alone.”

A cut to federal food assistance is looming, but residents have been struggling with the program for months. A cyber attack in July targeted a phone system that lets people call about their account information.

More than 687,000 Georgia households could lose access to SNAP benefits next month if the federal government shutdown continues, putting pressure on food banks already seeing increased demand.

Newly released internal DHS tallies show 2,207 case escalations last week alone — most flooding the state's call center — with more than a third repeat complaints amid ongoing SNAP delays.

Georgia’s SNAP administrators say they would need more than $60 million from state coffers to maintain their level of staffing after next year’s federal cuts to the program that more than one in 10 Georgians use for groceries.

ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is planning Thursday to announce an "emergency initiative" on SNAP, while Georgia Democrats are keeping up calls for state action with funding for the program, popularly known as food stamps, set to be cut off for November amid the government shutdown.

The article details the training of new ICE agents and the impact of a government shutdown on SNAP benefit funding in Georgia.