The core mission of our Food and Nutrition Services Program at the North Carolina Division of Social Services is to help our residents feed their families.
We recently announced the second phase of an online screening tool that helps families in North Carolina determine if they may be eligible to receive Food and Nutrition Services benefits (formerly known as food stamps), as well as other benefits.
The Electronic Pre-Assessment Screening Service, or ePASS, is in keeping with Gov. Bev Perdue’s initiative to Set Government Straight and make it work more efficiently for the people of North Carolina. ePass (www.epass.nc.gov) is a secure Internet-based tool accessible from any Internet-connected computer. The ePASS tool, which went online July 1, now has the ability to save the information input into the system and provide the user with a completed application once the questions are completed.
ePASS allows families to use their time and resources more effectively and be better prepared when they come to local departments of social services to make applications for services.
Local departments of social services should also benefit by having shorter wait times for applicants.
As of October 2010, more than 1.5 million North Carolinians in nearly 687,000 households were receiving FNS benefits. From July—September this year local county departments of social services in North Carolina averaged more than 61,400 applications for services per month.
The Food and Nutrition Services Program provides an immediate economic benefit to local communities, as every $5 in new benefits generates up to $9.20 in community spending, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For more information about the Food and Nutrition Services Program go to www.ncdhhs.gov/dss/foodstamp or contact your local department of social services; for a list of county departments go to www.ncdhhs.gov/dss/local/.