Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:16] Speaker B: Hello and welcome back to Just A Bite. Today, our friend Maura, a SNAP recipient from Clark County, Ohio, is returning to the podcast.
We first talked with Maura in February of 2025, where we heard about her experience being a victim of SNAP skimming and the impact that this theft has had on her family of four.
You can turn into our original interview with Maura in our January 2026 episode titled Stolen at the A Snap Skimming Story.
One year later, Snap skimming is still rampant in the United States, with no path available for SNAP recipients to get reimbursed for their stolen benefits.
Snapsgiving continues to erode consumer trust in the nation's most important line of defense against hunger, putting further pressure on strained call centers, Ohio Department of Job and Family Service caseworkers, and Ohio's legal aid offices, intensifying already record levels of demand for help from Ohio's food banks, causing innocent Ohioans to further experience hardship and hunger. Since we last spoke with Maura, we also experienced the longest government shutdown in US history, lasting 43 days between October 1, 2025 to November 12, 2025.
For the first time in program history, SNAP recipients did not receive their benefits on November 1, 2025, forcing households who depend on these benefits to put food on the table to go without that support for upwards of two weeks.
As SNAP recipients were waiting for their delayed benefits, they increasingly turned to Ohio's food banks and food pantries for support.
As a result, the Ohio association of Food banks network served 46.2 more food pantry visitors from November 1 to November 21, 2025 than it did on average during the first 21 days of each month from January through October, fulfilling 389,000 additional pantry visits in just three weeks.
In this episode, Maura also shares with us her personal experiences throughout this past year, how her family was affected because of the government shutdown and the hardships she continues to face each day. Let's get started.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: Hi Maura, thank you so much for coming back on the podcast. We're so excited to have you here again.
[00:02:41] Speaker C: Hey, thank you for having me back.
[00:02:44] Speaker A: So Maura, we last spoke In February of 2025, roughly a year ago, and during that episode you shared with us that you were working full time as a paraprofessional for your local school district and were a single mother of three who received SNAP benefits for yourself and your kids. Can you share with us if you have experienced any changes in your work status or your SNAP household status since the last time we talked a year ago Yes.
[00:03:11] Speaker C: A lot has actually changed over this past summer. I went to phlebotomy school and got certified and I've started a new job working at my local hospital as a phlebotomist. And I'm actually starting nursing school here soon too.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: That's so exciting. When do you start?
[00:03:30] Speaker C: Within the next couple months.
[00:03:32] Speaker A: Very exciting. I'm sure that is going to be big changes to your schedule and your work. So that's. That's really exciting.
Has anything changed with your SNAP house household status, the people who are on your benefits, or is it still you and your three kids?
[00:03:47] Speaker C: I still have myself and my three kids. The only change that has occurred is my daughter's preschool. Their title 20 has gotten approved, so it decreased my SNAP benefit for the month.
[00:03:59] Speaker A: Okay, so you're receiving less in benefits now than you were receiving a year ago?
[00:04:05] Speaker C: Yes, because it was their daycare tuition was considered an expense, so it made my SNAP benefit higher. And now that. Now that I'm getting the assistance for the daycare. Yeah, it's made that expense go down, so it's lowered my monthly benefit.
[00:04:23] Speaker A: Okay, that makes sense. Do you want to elaborate a little bit about how these changes have impacted your life overall? Both you changing your work environment, decrease in your benefits, how that has impacted your overall budget, and how that influences how you're using your benefits on a regular basis?
[00:04:45] Speaker C: Yeah. So these changes, I mean, the work change has impacted my life in a positive way because I'm much happier being in a field that I enjoy and want to learn more about.
But in the title 20 has obviously helped out, but it has decreased the amount. So I have had to budget and get my basic necessities on my snap and I have been having to pay it more out of pocket for extra things.
[00:05:13] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. So just overall receiving less benefits due to a change in the deductions that were on your SNAP household.
Can I ask if your household income, your out of pocket expenses has changed with your work status change as well and if that has any impact on your eligibility?
[00:05:32] Speaker C: Actually, surprisingly, I took a pay cut going. Okay, so that hasn't. But I know as I go into nursing school and become a nurse, that will definitely.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:42] Speaker C: Impact my budget.
[00:05:43] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. Maura, you also shared that as of February 2025, you had been skimmed of your benefits a total of three times.
I'm curious since we talked a year ago, if you've been skimmed of your benefits any further in the past 12 months?
[00:06:00] Speaker C: No, fortunately I have not been skimmed.
[00:06:03] Speaker A: That's great.
I'm really glad to hear that you have not experienced this again. It's still a problem that is running rampant through the state of Ohio nationally, and policymakers are really working to find a solution to this and hopefully we can reach one soon. Can you describe how even though you haven't been skimmed at any point in the past year, can you describe how your previous experience being skimmed has maybe impacted your view and possibly your trust of the SNAP program at all?
[00:06:33] Speaker C: Yeah, being skimmed has definitely made me keep my guard up. I no longer use my SNAP card to make online purchases like pickup orders, which I used in the past a lot because having toddler twins, it's hard to grocery shop. So it was very convenient to do the online pickup. But I just, it makes me nervous to put my car number into any data system because I don't know if that's linked to skimming or. I don't know. It just makes me nervous. Yeah. And also, I'm super always aware of my SNAP balance when I go to the store.
And then once I check out, I keep a log and I write down my.
The total of my purchase to try to keep track. So if I do check my card and see the balance is different, then I can kind of narrow it down to being skimmed.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: Okay.
And that kind of helps you identify possibly like what store it happened at or what can you expect your balance to be the next time that you go to the store?
[00:07:35] Speaker C: Yes. Yeah, so I'm always just checking even before I start shopping because I never want to get up to the cashier again. And yeah, have them be like, oh, you don't have enough on here because that's just embarrassing and makes me feel bad. So.
[00:07:48] Speaker A: Yeah, I can totally understand that. Do you ever use the card locking feature when you're going in between shopping trips? Do you use that at all?
[00:07:58] Speaker C: Yes, I do. I have been doing that as well.
[00:08:00] Speaker A: That's a really common way that people are in between their shopping trips, locking their card immediately in order to protect it in the meantime.
But it's still not a. Not a perfect solution. And skimming still happens even if people are, you know, taking extra precaution to lock their card in the meantime and things like that. So I'm really happy to hear that you have not been skimmed in the meantime, but it still sounds like your previous experience really impacts the stability that you feel when you're shopping, shopping for your family. So, yes, for sure. And I wanted to share some background information as well for our listeners. If you have not listened to our original interview, with Maura, in December 2024, Congress passed a continuing resolution that did not allocate more funds to be spent on reimbursement for SNAP benefits that had been stolen. Therefore, if you had been skimmed of your benefits past December 20, 2024, you could not be reimbursed for them, whereas before December 2024, if you had been skimmed, you report and receive a reimbursement for your benefits later down the line.
Maura, the last time we spoke, you mentioned that the first two times you were skimmed, you did not know that reimbursement was an option. However, a friend of yours told you how to file for reimbursement and that it was an option. Were you aware of the fact that reimbursement was no longer an avenue for you if you were to be skimmed of your benefits again, and just knowing that reimbursement is no longer an option have an impact on you in any way?
[00:09:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I was not aware that reimbursement was not an option. So I don't. I'm not sure how they are supposed to get that information to people, but honestly, I don't check my mail. Like, sometimes I let it pile up. I just get busy with three kids.
[00:09:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:50] Speaker C: So I might have gotten a notice in the mail that that is an option or that's not an option anymore.
But like I said, I'm not checking my mail as frequent as I should. So if they could communicate that through, like, text messaging or email, I think that would get out the information would be easier access to a lot of people.
[00:10:10] Speaker A: Definitely. And I'm imagining that you had to do a recertification for your SNAP case since the last time we talked, but you received no verbal communication from your caseworker in Clark county at all about it?
[00:10:23] Speaker C: No. They didn't mention anything about skimming or not getting a reimbursement. They mentioned nothing about that at all.
[00:10:30] Speaker A: Gotcha. Yeah. Just because I know. Obviously, you mentioned that maybe checking the mail isn't. Not necessarily that you do pretty frequently, but there's multiple avenues for communication that county offices could pursue with beneficiaries, whether it's notifying them through the mail during their recertification, which is a mandatory process that all SNAP recipients have to go through on a regular basis or on the Ohio Benefits Portal. There's a. There's a message tab where county offices would be able to send messages to their recipients that. That way as well. That's really, really helpful context that you weren't aware that reimbursement was no longer an option and is likely the experience for. For many SNAP recipients. So possibly someone who had been skimmed in the past, if they were skimmed recently and received reimbursement before, perhaps they're trying to file a report for it now and are finding out that way that they're no longer eligible for reimbursement, which I can imagine is something that weighs really heavy on people who had been skimmed.
[00:11:32] Speaker C: Yes, for sure.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: So since SNAP skimming continues to impact beneficiaries across the country stealing federal dollars from qualified recipients, states are beginning to adopt their own methods of benefit protection. To prevent more dollars from being stolen. The Ohio General assembly has proposed two bipartisan pieces of legislation, House Bill 163 and Senate Bill 315, that would install chip or TAP technology into the electronic benefit transfer, or EBT cards, which SNAP dollars are loaded onto for beneficiaries.
This would allow SNAP beneficiaries to use their SNAP benefits with the chip technology at the point of sale system, lowering the risk that skimming devices would pick up the card information by using the magnetic strip. It's a lot easier to pick up card information through that magnetic strip and is an extra layer of protection if you're using the chip or tap to pay, like all normal credit cards do.
Maura, I'm curious to hear from you how installing chip technology onto EBT cards could possibly affect your experience with SNAP and shopping at the store. Would that change your habits at all and would that add another layer of protection for you personally?
[00:12:47] Speaker C: Personally, I think the chip would be an awesome thing to have.
I would definitely feel more protected.
Plus, I think the card would last longer because I don't know if I'm the only one that this happens to, but it seems like the black strip on the card just gets worn out, like, so fast and it just makes it harder. So sometimes I've had to go to the grocery and it won't swipe, so they've had to, like, manually type in my number.
[00:13:15] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:13:15] Speaker C: Which always makes me kind of nervous, too, because it's like, I don't know where this information is going.
So, yeah, I think the chip would be way better because.
And the cashiers will be like, well, why don't you just get a new card? And the thing is, it takes at least two weeks to get a new card in the mail, and sometimes people can't wait that long to get a new card and not go grocery shopping for their families within that time period. So I think the chip would be a great.
A great thing.
[00:13:44] Speaker A: Yeah. 100 can I ask how many times you have you requested a new card and how, if you have, how many times have you had to do that?
[00:13:53] Speaker C: The two times that I got skimmed, I requested a new card.
[00:13:57] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:13:58] Speaker C: And then this last time, I've just been having them type it in manually.
[00:14:03] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:14:04] Speaker C: Because the black strip is, like, completely worn off.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: Okay, that makes sense. But I also totally understand how, you know, people putting in your numbers manually is another layer of, oh, this is a thing that gives me anxiety right now. If skimming is already on your mind, the loss of your benefits is already on your mind, having someone go through the number itself is probably something that impacts you really significantly.
[00:14:30] Speaker C: Yes, for sure.
[00:14:31] Speaker A: These pieces of legislation would be a really amazing change for SNAP recipients. It would give beneficiaries an added layer of protection that they know that their benefits aren't at risk of being stolen in the future.
And it would be a really, really wise investment for the state of Ohio to pursue. So we will keep you guys updated as the status of these bills once we are aware of them.
So since we last talked, Maura, a lot of things have happened in the SNAP world. As our listeners may recall, in the fall of 2025, we experienced the longest government shutdown in history, lasting from October 1, 2025 to November 12 of 2025.
Beginning on October 1, non essential federal workers were temporary furloughed. Essential federal workers such as military personnel, tsa, some law enforcement, and more workers were going to work without pay.
Additionally, the government shutdown significantly impacted federal programs such as SNAP. And for the first time in SNAP's history, SNAP benefits were not distributed to beneficiaries on November 1, 2025, as they normally are each month.
And without the benefits they are entitled to. Families were struggling to put food on the tables during this time, leading to Ohio Food bank seeing an increase 46.2% in food pantry visitors from November 1st to November 21st than it did in the first 21 days of a month from January through October, fulfilling 389,000 additional pantry visits in just three weeks.
Maura, can you share a little bit with us about your personal experience during the government shutdown? What was your reaction when you learned that your benefits would not be coming through immediately in the month of November?
And how did you support your family during this time? And maybe what other resources did you turn to to support yourself?
[00:16:29] Speaker C: Yeah, so learning that I wasn't going to be getting my benefits was honestly devastating for myself and for my family because it was actually horrible timing for me that is when I was in the lingo of getting my new job at the hospital.
[00:16:46] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:16:46] Speaker C: So, you know, like, when you start a new job, you have to wait a couple, work a couple weeks, even get your first paycheck.
So knowing that I didn't have income coming in at the time, and also I didn't have my SNAP benefits, I mean, I. There are many times where I cried myself to sleep, like, just worrying about how I was going to provide food for myself and my kids.
But thankfully, I have a really supportive family and a great set of friends.
So my mother, she offered and gave me some money to get groceries, and my friends did as well.
But I just was thinking about all of the people that don't have those resources and don't have support Systems. So, yeah, 100% really, really hard.
[00:17:36] Speaker A: I can totally imagine the stress of a. Not knowing that your benefits were not coming that month, which is something that's never happened before, something that SNAP recipients have never had to worry about, ever.
And then that being lined up with your change of job, which you're pursuing because you want to move forward in your career. And it's just a really unfortunate timing circumstance that that was happening to you all at one time, so.
But it sounds like you have a really great support system that was able to help you through that time. But I totally agree with you. Not everyone is lucky enough to have that support system to help them through these tough times. I totally agree with you.
So how long after the end of the government shutdown did you end up receiving your November benefits?
[00:18:27] Speaker C: I'm not exact sure of the exact date, but I know it was like, a few days before Thanksgiving.
[00:18:32] Speaker A: A few days before Thanksgiving. Okay. So there was a little bit of a lag between when the government shutdown ended and when you actually got your benefits. I'm imagining.
[00:18:42] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:18:43] Speaker A: Yeah. We heard from a lot of SNAP recipients that that was a really common experience for them as the government was opening back up. It took a little bit of time for the federal government to process the funds, send them to states. But that's really burdensome, not only on the SNAP beneficiaries who were waiting on their benefits to be released to them and put on their cards, but also on the people working at the state and the federal level trying to get that money sorted out. So definitely a really big burden during that time. A lot of stress, a lot of uncertainty. So I'm glad that you eventually got your November benefits, but it is a significant, significant time period that people had to go without them. Lasting even beyond the time period of the shutdown.
So so how do you feel overall? Your experience on SNAP has changed in the last year from the government shutdown to SNAP skimming threats to just general changes in your personal life, your work life and your your children's school status. How do you think that your overall experience has changed?
[00:19:49] Speaker C: I definitely have more anxiety than I did because like you said, it's just the unknown of not knowing is there going to be another shutdown?
Am I going to get my benefits decreased again with my new working status and going to school?
So yeah, just the uncertainty is just kind of nerve wracking.
[00:20:08] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure.
Well, I wish you the best of luck in your new job and I'm really excited for you that you're going to start nursing school really soon.
And I want to thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with us today and just sharing your experiences and being trusting with us to to share your your thoughts and your feedback about your the program, your experiences on the program and just want to thank you for for being here and sharing it with us.
[00:20:38] Speaker C: Oh well, thank you for giving me this platform to be able to spread awareness and all of that.
[00:20:45] Speaker A: Yeah, awesome.
[00:20:47] Speaker C: We appreciate it Maura all right, thank you.
[00:20:49] Speaker A: Thank
[00:20:55] Speaker C: you.
[00:20:56] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:21:00] Speaker B: That's it for this episode of Just a Bite. I want to extend my gratitude to Maura for continuously sharing her stories and experiences with us on the podcast.
If you are a SNAP participant, please follow these tips to better protect your benefits from theft Manage your benefits by downloading a Secure Connect EBT app on your mobile phone or tablet.
Through the app's card lock features. Users can enable a feature that requires the user to lock their EBT prior to making any purchases, including in state.
You can create a PIN for your card that is unique and difficult to guess.
You can change your PIN monthly before each scheduled deposit.
Never share your card number or pin. Odjfs will never ask you for these numbers.
You can carefully examine the point of sale card readers before using them to check for skimming devices and make sure when you're using your card to cover the keypad with your body or hand to stop others from seeing your pen.
Also notify store staff if you notice anything suspicious with the card reader.
In order to protect SNAP recipients from further SNAP benefit theft, lawmakers in the state of Ohio must implement a long lasting solution for preventing SNAP scamming.
The Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP act of 2025, also known as House Bill 163, which is sponsored by Representative Tristan Raider and Representative Kelly Dieter would require Ohio's SNAP program to begin using chip enabled EBT cards to protect SNAP recipients from benefit theft.
Additionally, House Bill 163 has a companion bill in the Senate, Senate Bill 315, sponsored by Senator Tim Schaefer and Senator Herschel Craig. The Ohio association of Food Banks Network is eager and willing to partner with Congress, the usda, and the State of Ohio to be partners in relieving hunger and hardship for victims of SNAP benefit theft and in securing permanent solutions to prevent future benefit theft from SNAP recipients.
[00:23:06] Speaker C: Sam.
