LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Mary Diaz has a big family and Christmas has always been a big deal.
She says, "I usually cook two hams and a turkey. You know I got a big family. I got 24 grandchildren and four daughters of my own and stepchildren. So, I mean, I got a big family."
This year, Diaz is worried about how she'll put food on the table. She is a SNAP benefits recipient. She explains that a few days ago, she went shopping and discovered she'd lost more than $300 in benefits.
"Me and my baby went to Walmart — she was running a fever, a little sick with the flu — to get juice and you know, hams and stuff for my dinner. When we get to the self-checkout, I scanned my card and it said declined,” says Diaz.
She says the benefits were used in New York — a place she says she's never been.
Diaz says, "So I just left and I called the food stamp office today they pretty much told me to fill out a complaint of them being stolen. I may get them back and I may not."
Scripps News reports that only 28 states and Washington D.C. have laws that make having a card-skimming device illegal. In Kentucky, it is only illegal to use one.
Scripps News recently sent out a survey and found that more than $70 million was stolen from food assistance programs in 46 states. In Kentucky, $340,310 was taken.
According to the USDA December 2022, Congress passed the Consolidates Appropriations Act that would allow state agencies to use federal funds to replace stolen SNAP benefits. By October 2023, the food nutrition service approved states' plans to implement this and published tracking on stolen data claims.
Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services says that since August 10, 1,100 theft complaints have been replaced, totaling more than $546,000.
Diaz just wants to keep making this holiday special for her daughter...who loves cooking together.
She says, "I don't know, I don't know if God's trying to show me something or what, but you know it’s gonna be sucky this year. But we'll get through it. We always do."
Diaz has been told that she will get a replacement card but might not see those benefits until January. The Food and Nutrition Service recommends that participants avoid simple pins, and keep them private, watch out for phishing, change the pin regularly, check your accounts, and contact your SNAP office if you suspect theft.
Diaz does not want to see this happen to other families. She says, "I just hope everybody has a merry Christmas and the ones that got done like me, I hope they can make it through it like we're going to."
