The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — which helps more than one in 10 Tennesseans get groceries — is already in legal trouble in the state for delayed benefits and other mismanagement concerns. It could be soon be undergoing massive cuts.

About a dozen beneficiaries and the nonprofit newspaper The Contributor filed a class action lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Human Services, which administers SNAP. It argues the department routinely denies applications mistakenly, then makes the applicants wait for several months before getting their benefits. Federal law has a cap on delay times, and the lawsuit argues longer delays violate federal law. The residents had to spend money on food that would have gone to other expenses — at times leaving the applicants evicted or home

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