Gainesville residents are giving positive feedback on a customer service call center hot line in which people can learn about applying for food stamps.
The line was funded by a $14,973 allocation from the Alachua County Board of Commissioners.
The Department of Children and Families added the hot line to their list of services, said Lynn Dann, an operations management consultant for the department.
Contacting the center is the only way to ask about food stamp benefits. The hot line is for all calls, not just those about applications, she said. It is the only county-funded line in Florida, Dann said.
Before the hot line, 24 percent of people who called were waited on, and 55 percent of those eligible for benefits got them, according to a press release from the County Manager's office.
Dann said the department advertised for the hot line to reach people who haven't had to apply before and might be hesitant to go to the center in person.
It's too early for updated statistics, but Dann said the hot line has been popular.
About 600 people have registered for food stamp applications since the hot line's launch.
"Unfortunately, many are eligible," she said.
The department is scheduled to display the results of the service to the Alachua County Commissioner's office in April.
