Bruce Cole, who took part in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), was taken aback when he discovered that the benefits associated with his EBT card had run out without any warning from the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
EBT cardholders in Arizona were shocked when, upon reaching the register at the grocery store, they discovered that the funds on their SNAP cards had been depleted without any prior warning.
Regarding the situation with his expired EBT card, Bruce Cole stated, “It is chaos not being advised or notified that your EBT expired.”
In Arizona, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, is provided to disabled veteran Bruce Cole by the Department of Economic Security (AZDES).
Cole, who is unable to work due to a disability, expressed his gratitude toward AZDES and the SNAP program for the assistance they provide to him. People who are in Cole’s position heavily rely on the money on their EBT cards to feed themselves and their families.
He claimed that he was the one who discovered that his EBT card had expired in the last week of June when he called AZDES to change the PIN that was associated with his card.
His explanation was as follows: “The automated phone system just said, ‘Your benefits have expired.'”
After calling the number four times, he received an automated message each time stating that the system was down and to try again later.
According to Cole, AZDES informed SNAP clients that their EBT cards had expired because of a “vendor issue.” On the other hand, they were not getting reminders to reapply for their SNAP benefits.
AZDES explained the events that took place in June of this year.
“As a separate issue, the vendor through which the state of Arizona prints and mails correspondence and paper checks was the victim of a cyberattack in June,” the Arizona Department of Economic Security Press Secretary Tasya C. Peterson said in a statement to Tucson Local Media.
“This resulted in the company taking their systems offline nationwide,” Tasya C. Peterson said.
She stated that “No state systems were compromised, and ADOA (Arizona Department of Administration) and the Arizona Department of Homeland Security worked to ensure that all state systems were protected during the outage.”
According to a statement that she released, “the outage affected the work of four state agencies, including DES as well as various programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, among others.”
“During the outage, DES updated its website and call centre messaging to assist in informing staff about the incident and its impacts,”
The Arizona Department of Economic Security (AZDES) reported that the vendor resumed operations in Arizona over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and it has collaborated with the state to process delayed notices, forms, and paper checks.
In her statement, she stated that “all delayed correspondence has since been processed.” Because of the outage in June, DES customers did not lose their eligibility for or benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
However, due to the incident in May, AZDES stated that clients’ benefits could have been allowed to lapse at the end of June without them being informed.
According to what she said, “DES clients will all receive the benefits for which they are eligible.”
AZDES has announced that they will be extending deadlines for individuals who have not received notices. They also mentioned that their July benefits ought to be accessible now.
On the other hand, Cole asserts that several days later, on July 14, he saw customers at his local Safeway grocery store throwing away their cards.
He claimed that he witnessed a woman attempting to pay for groceries, but the cashier informed her that she did not have sufficient funds available on her card.
According to Cole, the emergency funds for SNAP were depleted in April. Cardholders who were already struggling financially due to rising food prices were further confused as a result of this, as DES notices were also delayed.
According to Cole, an organization known as La Frontera has been distributing emergency food boxes to people, which has been of great assistance.
Cole pondered, “How can a person who has no income and a disability get assistance?”
According to Cole, if your EBT card does not have any funds and you have not received a notice from DES, you do not have any other options. The question is, “What do you do for a living?” It was Cole who inquired.
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Cole reported that he could purchase his groceries on a limited budget by using unique options, rather than merely coupons and discounts.
Cole became a member of the loyalty programs offered by all of his neighbourhood grocery stores, including Albertson’s, Safeway, and Fries.
Except for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, the store awards points for items that are purchased. You can get a discount on fuel if you use the points.
Cole explained that because he does not own a vehicle, he redeems his points for discounts on various groceries.
In addition to that, he compiles digital coupons for everyday consumer goods.
