A local hot line providing information about food stamps is in operation after a surge in applications and complaints that local residents were unable to receive answers from the state.
About 55 percent of Alachua County residents who are eligible for food stamps are receiving them, according to the statement from the Alachua County Commission.
The number of requests for food stamps has been increasing with the economic downturn.
The commission voted to provide an "emergency allocation" of $14,973 to the Florida Department of Children and Families to fund the local hot line, according to a statement from its office Monday.
County Commission Chairman Mike Byerly said it shouldn't be necessary for the local government to start the hot line.
"If the Alachua County Commission can find the money, then certainly the state can, and it's definitely their responsibility," Byerly said.
The money will fund the hot line until June 30, and commissioners were clear that they did not intend to contribute money again, said John Skelly, director of poverty reduction programs for Alachua County.
Representatives from the Department of Children and Families did not respond to messages by press time.
