Cumberland County mobilizes food distributions after SNAP benefits stolen from 251 households

Cheryl Goldin, director of the Cumberland County Division of Social Services, told the Board of Commissioners that a coordinated criminal operation is stealing funds from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards and that 251 Cumberland County households reported their March benefits were taken.

"Between the first and fifth day of the month, right around midnight...Within minutes of these funds being available on the card, the entire amount on the card is being skimmed," Goldin said. She added that up until late December victims could receive replacement benefits but "Congress did not include replacement benefits in the last continuing resolution, so anyone that has had benefits stolen after 12/21/2024 will not be getting those funds back." Goldin also said SNAP benefits distributed to residents are "100% federally funded."

Goldin said the county and its partners have arranged a short-term response for affected residents. She said she contacted Jill Lombardo at Rural Development and that special food distributions will be held Monday and Tuesday of next week at one existing food pantry in each of the county’s three major municipalities, with designated time slots from 4 to 6 p.m. The distribution will include fresh meat, dairy, produce and other perishable and nonperishable items; the Division of Social Services will send special vouchers to affected individuals.

Goldin described two common methods used by criminals: an added device on a point-of-sale terminal and theft during some online grocery purchases. Asked about who can investigate, Goldin said local fraud investigations focus on individual clients while the state and federal governments investigate retailers; she said, "I know that the FBI is working on these cases because, as I said, it is all over the country."

Melissa Niles, department head for human services, told the board the county’s recovery center participates in the Wawa Harvest Program and can direct some donated hot food items to affected families. Other speakers urged that reports include store locations so consumer affairs can inspect point-of-sale devices.

Goldin, Niles and the board emphasized the county response is intended as a temporary stopgap until federal SNAP benefits resume; Goldin said the county hopes the special distributions will "provide a stopgap until their equal benefits are received." The board did not adopt a new ordinance or formal appropriation at the meeting for this response but supported the county staff and nonprofit partners acting to assist affected households.

The county encouraged residents who believe they are victims to report the thefts to the Division of Social Services and to consumer affairs so devices at suspected locations can be inspected. Goldin said the state is working on longer-term technical fixes, including a chip card and an app to lock and unlock benefit cards, but those solutions are not yet available.

The board’s public-comment and staff discussion made clear the impact is concentrated in Bridgeton and other low-income areas of Cumberland County; Goldin said the most recent wave affected hundreds of households locally and that similar skimming incidents occurred regionally last summer.

Looking ahead, the county said it will continue outreach to affected clients, coordinate with Rural Development and local food pantries, and share information with prosecutors and state and federal investigators as those investigations proceed.