A family struggles after SNAP benefits were stolen and not replaced.
LA PORTE, Texas — A La Porte woman reached out after her family’s monthly government food benefits were stolen last week.
Ashley Guzman said she contacted the state and was informed that the benefits would not be replaced and that she would have to wait until the following month. Guzman receives $536 each month on her Lone Star Card to feed her five children. The funds were deposited into her account at midnight on June 7, but by morning, they were gone, and her card was declined at the grocery store with her children by her side.
“The transaction history on my account showed all of the money had already been spent at 8 a.m.,” Guzman said, noting the purchase was made 1,100 miles away at a Sam’s Club in Sunrise, Florida. “I mean, we just really don’t have anything.”
The Texas Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the benefits, told her there was nothing it could do to replace the funds. Guzman and her family would have to wait until next month.
The Texas Inspector General stated that electronic benefit transfer card skimming first surfaced in 2022. Thieves plant devices on card readers, cloning Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cards and using them out of state. Federal funding to replace stolen SNAP benefits ended in 2024, leaving the neediest families, like Guzman’s, struggling to find food.
In response, local efforts have stepped in to help. The local food bank in La Porte, located at the Light of Christ Lutheran Church, was contacted for emergency assistance. Although the food pantry doesn’t open until Friday afternoon after receiving its weekly shipments, Brenda, a volunteer, made an exception.
Brenda said the number of needy families receiving help from the Ray of Light Food Pantry has more than doubled in the past year, now numbering in the hundreds.
Guzman expressed her gratitude, noting she and her family would likely return this Friday and a couple more times before her July benefits are deposited.
“What you do is amazing. I appreciate it. My kids appreciate it,” Guzman said.
With a little help, Guzman’s family will be able to make it through to next month, hoping something like this never happens again.
People who run into a similar situation will need to find help at a local food bank.
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