State Issued $45,000 In Food Assistance Cards By Mistake

State officials said that it issued 38,000 food assistance cards by mistake.

According to state officials, the state spent $45,000 printing and sending out new food stamp cards to people, who in some cases, were dead.

The incidents occurred after the storms on June 29.

The state received $10 million in federal benefits to be given to low income Ohioans to replace food that they lost when power went out because of the storms.

In 38,000 cases, a computer coding error did not recognize the name and chose another name at the same address.

Some of those who received the cards were shocked to receive benefits in the name of a deceased loved one.

Angela Terez of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said that the error would not happen again.

“We are so sorry that we caused some people confusion or distress or that we inconvenienced anyone, said Terez. “We wanted to get people benefits right away and we did that. No one had to stand in line in a heat wave. No one had to go to an office that itself did not have power, and we fixed the programming, so it should not happen again.”

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