Community members support a La Porte family after their food stamp benefits were stolen and used fraudulently out of state.
LA PORTE, Texas — A La Porte family whose food stamp benefits were hacked and stolen is now receiving help from community members who saw their story on the news. Ashley Guzman and the five children in her household lost their food assistance benefits for this month when funds from her Lone Star Card account were fraudulently spent at a Sam’s Club more than 1,100 miles away in Sunrise, Florida.
After the family’s story aired, multiple people contacted KHOU 11 and the local food pantry offering monetary donations and grocery shopping assistance.
“We’ve gotten several calls today about people wanting to donate monetarily to her. We’ve gotten one call from someone who wants to pick her up and take her to buy groceries,” said Brenda Halbardier, who runs the food pantry at Light of Christ Lutheran Church in La Porte.
KHOU 11 connected Ashley’s family with the food pantry, operated from Light of Christ Lutheran Church. They serve a growing number of families in need.
Halbardier says the demand for food assistance has dramatically increased in recent years.
“We are currently seeing between 275 and 300 families a week that equates to almost 800 people,” she said. The number of people needing help has doubled each year for the last four years, according to Halbardier.
The food pantry serves a diverse population struggling with food insecurity.
“These are people that you don’t typically think of as needing a food pantry,” Halbardier explained. “These are people who are working who just don’t quite have enough to make ends meet each month.”
The food pantry maintains an open-door policy for both those needing assistance and those wanting to help. Halbardier said they would accept donations from anyone wanting to contribute.
“Oh, I’ll never turn them away. I’ll never turn them away.” She also emphasized that the pantry never turns away anyone who needs help.