SNAP Error Cuts Woman's Benefits by 80 Percent

A disabled Tennessee woman had her SNAP benefits cut by 80 percent due to a clerical error.

Tammy Barger was left struggling when her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were suddenly slashed, leaving the Knoxville resident struggling to feed herself. SNAP benefits are paid to low- and no-income households nationwide who would otherwise struggle to buy groceries.

In 2022, Barger received $151 per month in food assistance, before this dropped to $119 in January 2023. Then, her benefits were suddenly cut even further to a meager $23 in January 2024.

Barger lives off $934 per month, made up from her food stamps and Social Security benefits. According to Barger, "change in income" was listed as the reason for the considerable drop. She said her Social Security benefits were raised slightly, but not enough to make a significant change to her monthly income.

When she raised the issue with the benefits office in Knoxville, she couldn't get any clear answers as to why such a dramatic drop had taken place, local news site WATE reported.

"I don't know what is going on at the food stamp office to cut my food stamps like they have," said Barger.

"I can't live like this. I am on disability. I pay my rent, my lights, pay my Wi-Fi, my phone, my dog's pain medicine, and one of my doctors, that leaves me nothing," she told WATE. "I've lost a lot of weight and my health has been really down, between health issues and worrying about these food stamps."

She said that despite trying to resolve the matter, there was no one there to take her calls. "The number they give you to call. It almost tore my phone up. They tell you to call the number and you do not get a hold of nobody," she said.

Barger insisted that she did everything she was required to do in order to get her benefits. "I have turned in all the proper paperwork. I even went up there in December when I got this letter and did a whole new application. Turned the application in and I still haven't heard anything," she explained.

To make ends meet, Barger used Knoxville's Mobile Meals, a non-profit organization that combats food insecurity among homebound and isolated older adults.

When queried about the benefit cut by WATE, a spokesperson for Tennessee Department of Human Services said it would review Barger's case. Barger said she was later told that the reduction of benefits was due to a clerical error.

Newsweek has contacted the department for comment via email outside of normal working hours.

Thankfully she is now getting more SNAP benefits, and has had the missing amounts for the previous months backdated. She is now receiving $127 per month in SNAP benefits.

Previous reporting by Newsweek has found significant issues with an online application system for SNAP benefits implemented in Tennessee in 2023. Some SNAP recipients have been forced to wait months on end for their benefits to be approved after staff training requirements led to a backlog of tens of thousands of applications.

Has a similar situation happened to your SNAP benefits? Get in touch by emailing a.higham@newsweek.com