DONELSON, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thousands of people trying to put food on the table have had their food assistance stolen this year.
The Tennessee Department of Human Services switched to a new EBT vendor in September to help protect people in the program. We're hearing from you that there are still major holes in the system. Families tell us they think the state needs to take responsibility and act.
"I'm hoping some official type person, our commissioner, mayor, governor takes the time and says, 'I'm going to fix this,'" said Avery Davis of Nashville. "I'm going to use the powers that I have. I'm going to use the police department. I'm going to use my TBI Cybersecurity Department to try to fix this. Because Thanksgiving is coming, and there's going to be people with empty plates."
Recently, while Davis was at Kroger with his 87-year-old mother Joyce Brooks, they discovered her EBT account — which should've been full — only had 4 cents left in it. This forced her to leave the store without any food.
Brooks is just one of 24,743 Tennesseans who've reported SNAP fraud this year.
I have looked into this problem in the past.
"When someone steals that little something that you got — that's one of the Ten Commandments — Thou shalt not steal," said Joyce Brooks.
While Brooks was mailed a replacement card, she still has not been able to get her funds back.
The state is encouraging cardholders to download EBT Edge from their app store. It allows users to set up balance alerts and freeze their cards for protection.
Fortunately, Davis is around to help his mother. It concerns him that others who are struggling do not have help.
"When I took her down to the office, I saw so many people who were not computer literate. When the department says, 'You can go to this website or this email, turn off your prompts for this, and turn this off for that,' or whatever the case may be, if you don't have a child or grandchild to help you, and it's just you, then you're low hanging fruit for thieves," Davis said.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at hannah.mcdonald@newschannel5.com.
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-Rebecca Schleicher
