Ombudsman helps family get new EBT card to access SNAP benefits

A building on West Monument Avenue that houses the Dayton-Montgomery County ombudsman's offices. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

A building on West Monument Avenue that houses the Dayton-Montgomery County ombudsman's offices. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

A woman contacted the Ombudsman for assistance in obtaining food benefits for which she was already approved. She had applied for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and was approved in the amount of $240, but she never received the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card.

Electronic Benefit Transfer is an electronic system that allows state departments to issue benefits via a magnetically encoded payment card used in the United States. It is used to pay for food through the SNAP program. When a participant shops at a SNAP authorized retail store, their SNAP EBT account is debited to reimburse the store for the food that was purchased. The average monthly EBT disbursement for SNAP was $211.45 per participant as of 2023.

The Ombudsman sent an inquiry to the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services on behalf of the woman’s plight. She had food benefits but no EBT card by which to access those benefits. The Ombudsman requested assistance for the woman in receiving an EBT card. Staff at the Department responded that a card had been requested but would take another two weeks to arrive.

The woman called in a few weeks to report that her card had arrived and that she had already been to the store to obtain food for her family. She was grateful for the intervention on her behalf.

The Ombudsman Column, a production of the Joint Office of Citizens’ Complaints, summarizes selected problems that citizens have had with government services, schools and nursing homes in the Dayton area. Contact the Ombudsman by writing to us at 11 W. Monument Ave., Suite 606, Dayton 45402, call 937-223- 4613, or by electronic mail at ombudsman@dayton-ombudsman.org.