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NC agency says USDA confirms it's met requirement

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — State officials say they have received confirmation that North Carolina has met the requirement for meeting a deadline to clear a backlog of food stamp applications.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said it received a letter Friday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Southeastern Regional Office saying it met the Feb. 10 deadline.

DHHS had until last Monday to process a backlog of more than 23,000 food stamp applications and renewals that had been pending for more than 90 days. The applications were to be processed by law within 30 days. North Carolina faced the loss of millions in federal funding.

The state struggled for months to process a backlog of food stamp applications resulting from a faulty update with its NC FAST software.