The timeliness of North Carolina’s food-stamp payments dipped slightly below federal standards between 2022 and 2024, according to a new state audit.

Ninety-one percent of payments of federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits arrived on time during those years, according to the audit released Wednesday. That’s below the 98% recorded in 2021. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program, considers 95% to be an acceptable performance.

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The value of the late payments in North Carolina was about $83 million between 2021 and 2024, the audit said, meaning 99.5% of the $15.7 billion in the state’s SNAP payout was distributed in a timely manner during those years.

The federal SNAP benefits, known as food stamps, are distributed by coun

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