For two months in a row, Marie Smith and her family—including her niece, Rebecca Franz, and Rebecca’s four children—received nothing but silence from their SNAP cards. On the first of each month, they usually rely on those benefits to buy groceries. But in July, when they checked their balance, only a single cent remained—more than $200 gone each time.

“I starve myself so they can eat,” Rebecca Franz shared. “It’s pretty bad when I have to feed my kids just bread and butter at night.”

The money, strangely, had been withdrawn in cities like Chicago—places the family has never even visited. And they’re not alone.

“How are people going to live? How are they going to feed their kids? Feed their families?” asked Marie Smith. At 65 years old, Smith. “What am I supposed to eat?”

She says she’s spoken with several others in Meadville facing the same issue—many of them elderly or disabled. Rebecca recently moved in with Smith to help care for her disabled child, and three others under the age of 12. As a result, Rebecca can’t work.

With the help of New Beginnings Church in Meadville, Smith shares they’ve received a few boxes of pasta to get by.

“We feel fortunate that we are able to help these people,” said Pastor Keith Mitchell. 

The Department of Homeland Security is urging SNAP recipients to be on high alert following a surge in benefit theft across the country. If you believe your benefits have been stolen, you should report it immediately to:

Your local police department, and The Office of State Inspector General (OSIG)

Online, or by calling 1-800-932-0582