BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – WBRC continues to hear from more people getting SNAP benefits stolen. For months now, criminals have drained Alabamians’ EBT cards, leaving families to find other ways to get groceries for the month.
Even a Jefferson County nonprofit is seeing a rapid uptick of accounts getting hit.
The Jefferson County Family Resource Center is seeing a dramatic increase in cases. Programs Manager Chloe Pappa says while only five clients dealt with this last year, they’re now up to 30% of their clientele getting their benefits stolen this year.
Pappa says many who aren’t involved in SNAP don’t realize that once someone’s EBT card is drained, that person has no money for food until the next month. The Department of Human Resources no longer replaces the stolen funds.
Unfortunately, some of their clients have been the victim of this SNAP fraud multiple times.
Pappa says it becomes exhausting and frustrating for those people because they start losing trust in the program.
“So, I see a lot of clients who are scared,” said Pappa. “I get a lot of questions about, ‘Where do I go now for food? How can I make it through the next week? What can I do to mitigate our hunger as much as possible?’ It’s a lot of fear and general anxiety, especially for parents.”
DHR has improved security in recent months. SNAP recipients can now lock their cards until they are ready to be used. Still, many Alabamians are left searching for help.
The center hosts food box distributions on the second and fourth Friday of every month. The events are free and open to whoever is in need of food. The boxes include fresh produce, meat and snacks.
Their next food distribution dates are June 27 at 120 2nd Court North in Birmingham and July 11 at the corner of 1st Avenue North and 21st Street North in Bessemer.
Oftentimes, it’s more than stomachs getting full from these distributions, people’s minds are calmer too.
“Usually they’ll also meet people during those events who have experienced a similar situation. So, it’s just kind of nice to hear from other people’s stories for them but usually they’ll be super relieved,” said Pappa.
Of course, one box distribution won’t keep a family full for a month, so, there are other resources out there.
Pappa recommends reaching out to Grace Klein Community and the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama.
Grace Klein hosts a food support drive-thru at Liberty Church Birmingham from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. You can find other food giveaways here.
The Community food Bank of Central Alabama’s website has a “food distribution calendar” button where you’ll find a list of dates and times for food giveaways happening all across central Alabama.
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