DONELSON, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thousands of people trying to put food on the table had their food aid stolen this year.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services switched to a new EBT provider in September to help protect people in the program. We hear from you that there are still major vulnerabilities in the system. Families say they think the state should take responsibility and take action.

“I hope an official type of person, our commissioner, our mayor, our governor, will take the time to say, ‘I’m going to fix this,'” said Avery Davis of Nashville. “I’m going to use the powers that I have. I’m going to use the police department. I’m going to use my TBI Cybersecurity Department to fix this. Because Thanksgiving is coming up and there’s going to be people with empty plates.”

Recently, Davis was at Kroger with her 87-year-old mother, Joyce Brooks, when they discovered there was only 4 cents left in the EBT account that was supposed to be full. This forced him to leave the store without buying food.

Brooks is just one of 24,743 Tennesseans who reported SNAP fraud this year.

I have researched this issue in the past.

“When someone steals that little thing you have — it’s one of the Ten Commandments — you shall not steal,” Joyce Brooks said.

Even though Brooks was sent a new card, he still hasn’t gotten his money back.

Government encourages cardholders to download EBT Edge from its app store. It allows users to set balance alerts and freeze their cards for protection.

Luckily, Davis is here to help his mother. It concerns him that others who are struggling are not getting help.

“When I took him into the office, I saw a lot of people who weren’t computer literate. When the department said, ‘You can go to this website or this email, you can turn off the prompts for this, you can turn off that for that,'” Davis said, “or whatever the case may be, you have a child to help you.” or if you have no grandchildren and it is just you, then you are in a position to bear fruit for thieves,” he said.

Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at: [email protected].

Meet the man who worked as a nurse for over 20 years and gave trees a second purpose

Prepare to be inspired – Tad found a second purpose later in life and turned his hobby into his full-time job. After being on the front lines during the pandemic, she’s helping the planet, helping homeowners, and finding fulfillment slower.

-Rebecca Schleicher