LEXINGTON, Ky. — Family food stamps worth more than $5 million have been stolen from people in Kentucky and Indiana over the past year.
Thieves are taking money from accounts that are linked to EBT cards.
Theft of food or taking food from the table is not okay, Austin Metzler warned. “Don’t steal from the families.”
Metzler’s leg was cut off nine years ago. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps him feed his family now.
He said, “I have a 4-year-old.” “He doesn’t like to eat. He loves eating fresh veggies. “He wants his fresh fruit.”
Metzler gets $140 on his SNAP card every month on the 15th. When he went grocery shopping earlier this month, he got very bad news. When he tried to use the card to pay for some of those fruits and vegetables, it was turned down.
It was told to him that the balance was just 46¢.
“It’s embarrassing,” Metzler said. “I mean, who wants to go to a store and your card doesn’t work?”
And he said that SNAP payments are important to him and other families. “That’s school lunch and home snacks,” Metzler said.
It’s been the same story in food stores across Kentucky and Indiana, where hackers have stolen millions of dollars in benefits from families in those two states. Kentucky has spent $2,280,311 in the last year to replace SNAP benefits that were stolen, while Indiana has spent $3,000,000 to do the same.