This story has been updated with additional information. The state health department confirmed partial SNAP benefits were being issued to eligible recipients on Nov. 7.

ASHEVILLE - Partial benefits for eligible recipients of SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, began to be issued the morning of Nov. 7, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

"The delay in benefits is already impacting hundreds of thousands of people in North Carolina who rely on SNAP," the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, state health department spokesperson Summer Tonizzo told the Citizen Times in a Nov. 6 email. She confirmed in a Nov. 7 email that partial benefits had begun.

"NCDHHS is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to update partners and

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