RICHMOND, Va. — "Pain and suffering" is how low-income families describe what it's like for their food assistance benefits to be stolen. It's an issue CBS 6 began looking into after several people reached out to say their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were depleted through out-of-state fraudulent transactions.
Now, we're taking a look at how local food banks are stepping up to help and what government leaders are doing to stop the theft from happening.
'An emotional hit'
Dozens of volunteers gathered Wednesday at the Belmont Food Pantry on Richmond's Southside to unload, assemble, and store meals intended to feed hundreds of families.
“I think we see it as a blessing. I think it's really important for our community and our neighbors to know that we see them and that we see that they're struggling," said the organization's executive director Helen Trevey.
Last week, Trevey said the pantry served almost 700 families, a record number for the organization which has been distributing food every Friday for the past twenty years.
On average, she said each household receives roughly 30 pounds of food, enough for about five meals.
“And then you multiply that times what we had last week, which was 700, that’s a lot of food going out the door," Trevey said.
And she believes the need may have increased due to the surge in reports of stolen SNAP benefits.
“We heard about that quite a bit last Friday for more than a handful of families, and I hadn't really heard that at that consistency before," Trevey said. “We already have families that are challenged financially and to know that a benefit that they're counting on or a benefit that they truly need is not available to them, and it's fraud for people who are struggling, that's just an emotional hit.”
And it's not just Belmont's pantry.
Liberation Church, which serves about 550 families each week, has also noticed a considerable uptick.
“We’re obviously seeing some of the families come in and share that with us as well," said associate pastor Sonny Hoge. "It's a new thing."
Local social services departments across Central Virginia are seeing skyrocketing claims of stolen benefits.
This month in Richmond, there was a 2,000% increase compared to the typical number of reports the department receives.
According to information shared by the Hanover Department of Social Services, EBT cards are becoming compromised for a number of reasons including skimming, phishing, and cloning of cards. Additionally, peoples' PINs could be compromised while making an online grocery purchase or while entering information into a third-party app.
CBS 6 spoke with several Richmond mothers this month who said their benefits were stolen. They described financial hardships and stress trying to feed their children and pay other bills without their assistance available:
- “It’s hard, it's frustrating, it's upsetting, it's highly inconvenient, whatsoever. I feel like this is pain and suffering," said Teaisha Smith.
- “Sometimes I go without eating because my kids have to eat, and that's not fair to nobody," said Musheerah Townes.
- “I was hungry. I would let the kids eat before I eat, but we all were suffering because we were getting weak," said Mekel Johnson.
- "That's a whole lot to try to figure out day to day, to figure out what we're going to eat, or how we're going to make it the next day for the next meal," said Scotaeja Brown.
All the mothers said they were not given answers as to exactly how their benefits were stolen, but they all filled out paperwork to have their funds replaced.
WATCH: Richmond moms disappointed in time it's taking to replace stolen SNAP benefits
Replacing stolen benefits
In 2022, Congress approved a federal program that allows states and localities to replace stolen SNAP benefits, but the funding to keep it going is set to end with the expiration of a continuing resolution on Dec. 20 of this year.
Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, who represents Richmond City and parts of Southside Virginia, said she's pushing for any new funding bill to include extending the program, whether it's through another continuing resolution or a full appropriations bill.
“People are entitled to these benefits, and just like if you have your money stolen, it has an impact," McClellan told CBS 6.
However, she could not definitively say whether she believes there will be a consensus among lawmakers to continue the benefits replacement program.
“I am hopeful. I think hopefully more of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are hearing from their constituents because this is not a Democrat or Republican problem. We're seeing this issue everywhere," McClellan said.
Since the program was implemented, $150 million in benefits have been replaced across the country, according to federal data.
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) has replaced $4.6 million between July 2023 and September 2024, according to information shared by Hanover Social Services.
Melek Johnson, whose benefits were stolen this month, said she's concerned about being victimized by theft again and is calling on lawmakers to extend the benefits replacement program.
"Extend it or find a way that this doesn't happen again. Then you can end the program. But if it's going to continue to happen, why end the program?" Johnson said. "They need to take into consideration the kids, because the kids are the only ones that suffer when this happens. So if they don't really care about the kids, then the program should end."
Teaisha Smith, another victim of benefits theft, echoed a similar sentiment.
"Whether it's a chip, a fingerprint, face ID, it definitely needs to be more security measurements in place with the SNAP benefits. Because if they could do that from another city, just imagine what else they can do," Smith said.
WATCH: Richmond sees 'incredibly alarming' increase in reports of stolen SNAP benefits
Preventing theft
Amid nationwide reports of theft, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent letters to all governors imploring them to implement chip technology on EBT cards, which the USDA said would crack down on theft and fraud. Currently, EBT cards have to be swiped, increasing the risks of skimming.
A USDA spokesperson said some states are already planning to implement chip cards including California and Oklahoma.
Virginia is not one of them.
“Is that something you think Virginia should be considering?” reporter Tyler Layne asked Rep. McClellan.
“I do. We need to do everything we can to protect users of SNAP benefits, just as we would any other consumer," McClellan responded.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney agreed it would be "wise" for the commonwealth to consider chip card technology.
"Any way we can strengthen that program through these measures, I think will go a long way for not just the families involved, but also on behalf of the federal taxpayers and the state taxpayers as well," Stoney said.
Christian Martinez, spokesperson for Governor Glenn Youngkin, said the state is assessing the costs of offering chip cards.
In the meantime, he said the administration has brought on an audit firm to identify unusual activities for investigation and help strengthen internal controls.
Additionally, Martinez said VDSS is taking steps to combat robocalls and allow customers to lock and unlock their EBT cards through a mobile app in an effort to prevent unauthorized transactions. The date of implementation is pending.
Finally, he said VDSS began the process to gather information about monitoring tools and artificial intelligence to identify suspicious financial transactions.
CBS 6 has inquired with VDSS about whose job it is to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for stealing benefits. We are still waiting to hear back from VDSS.
Local social services leaders said victims are encouraged to file police reports with local law enforcement agencies, but jurisdiction is difficult to establish since the theft is suspected to be coming from out of state. Richmond Police said it is assisting VDSS in its investigation, which RPD said is the lead agency. Virginia State Police said it does not have an open investigation into the matter.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said it hasn't had any recent cases involving theft of SNAP benefits and suggested contacting the USDA for information about any federal prosecutions. The USDA said to contact local law enforcement or VDSS for information about ongoing investigations.
Supporting local food banks
As families feel the financial impacts of having their assistance taken, local food banks stand ready to fill in any immediate gaps. The families who shared their stories with CBS 6 all reported that social services directed them to local food banks for help.
“Anything that we can do to help someone else, we want to do," Hoge said.
While the pantries receive support and resources from community partners, churches, and grocery stores, donations go a long way in keeping their operations going strong.
“You should support your local food pantry. You should find where that work is happening, and that's where you should take your donations and really bless them this holiday season," Trevey said.
To learn more about the Belmont Food Pantry or make a donation, click here
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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