SNAP Program’s Long History of Abuse

by ROGER GITLIN

November 3, 2025 - Could it be a blessing that the government shutdown is halting the SNAP Program? Trafficking, scams, and fraud proliferate in Del Norte, California, and across the United States. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) unfortunately has a long history of fraud and abuse.

First, a short background: the Food Stamp Program—labeled in recent years as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—is a United States federal government program founded by an Act of Congress in 1939. It was designed to help those in need through a social safety net providing food assistance for families affected by the Depression, unemployment, and homelessness. Originally part of a farm support effort to move surplus crops, it allowed the unemployed and impoverished to purchase food they otherwise could not afford. The Department of Agriculture operates the Food Stamp Program, which originally used replicas of miniature currency in $1 and $5 notes before eventually being replaced by the EBT card system.

As bureaucracy grew—and it did massively—fraud and abuse were not far behind.
Today, over 42 million Americans are SNAP recipients, representing 12.3 percent of the U.S. population. The average one-person benefit is currently $187.20, while the average family benefit is $356.21. The larger the family, the greater the benefit.

In California, SNAP recipients total 15.3 percent of the state’s estimated 39.5 million residents, amounting to $5.8 billion in benefits. Illegal aliens have been provided SNAP benefits in the past, but new rules from the Trump Administration restricted non-citizens from accessing these American benefits.

The total cost of the SNAP Program for 2024 was $57.1 billion.
Fraud and abuse within the program remain significant issues, involving improper payments and criminal activity that undermine the program’s integrity and effectiveness.

The USDA reports that 11.7 percent of SNAP benefits were paid improperly—though that figure may be grossly underestimated.

Trafficking of EBT cards is rampant. One individual in Smith River told me he would regularly sell his card for cash and then wire the money to Mexico via Western Union. Of the $68 billion Mexico receives in U.S. remittances annually, roughly $2 billion comes from employed illegal aliens sending money back home. Other funds are transferred to Latin American, South American, Asian, and African countries.

Some years back, I observed a young man enter Safeway, walking through the register lines seeking elderly women and offering to purchase their groceries with his EBT card in exchange for cash. An assistant manager was called over and did nothing to stop the fraud. Outrageous!

The Del Norte Department of Health and Human Services has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the scams and abuse surrounding the SNAP Program.

When you see something, say something.