LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — Chari Seeley happily looks at a list of items.

She gestures towards the cabbage and cheese before exclaiming, “whipping cream!” It’s not her usual choice, but she mentioned it’s needed for a special occasion.

“It’s my birthday,” she sang, laughing. “Yay!!”

The woman, who survived breast cancer, depends on the Hill Country Community Ministries food pantry to supplement her essentials after experiencing a reduction in her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits earlier this year.

“They took off $30 on my SNAP,” she explained. “It’s wrong! It’s dead wrong! If you’re going to cut stuff, look at who you’re cutting.”

Congress is deliberating over further funding cuts that could potentially subtract at least $230 billion from agricultural initiatives over the next ten years. Data from Texas Health and Human Services indicate that close to 3.6 million residents in the state depend on SNAP benefits.

More families need help 

Food pantries, like Hill Country Community Ministries, have seen a surge in families in need. 

“We are seeing already about an 11% to 12% increase year to date. Last year, we served 140,000 people. So, you figure about 10% increase or so. We’re going to probably serve 150,000 people this next year, which is insane. I mean, out of this tiny food pantry,” explained Tiesa Hollaway, executive director for Hill Country Community Ministries. 

Hollaway said they get 150 visits a day to the tiny, 900-square-foot pantry. She added they’re trying to expand, due to the growing need and are working to raise $1.5 million for a new facility and resource center. 

“We’ve been trying to do this for a while,” she said. “Trying to create a one-stop shop.”

Feeding Texas, the state association of food banks, shared concerns and has been talking to elected officials in Washington about the importance of SNAP to families and farmers. 

“For every meal our food banks are able to put on the table, SNAP puts nine meals. So any cut, even a small cut, can really affect — can lead to people losing benefits, and then that leads to more strain on our resources,” said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas. 

Cole added the proposed SNAP cuts would also weaken the state’s economy and impact jobs. 

“Retailers, farmers, workers, and communities across our state all participate in a highly interconnected economic ecosystem and would feel the impact of SNAP cuts. If current proposals move forward, hungry families will suffer, food businesses will suffer and our overall economy will be weaker,” Cole said. 

Truckloads canceled 

Feeding Texas explained that resources are already stretched after the U.S. Department of Agriculture halted millions of dollars worth of deliveries to food banks.  The anti-hunger organization shared data from the Texas Department of Agriculture that showed 396 deliveries — including meat, eggs, dairy and canned vegetables — were canceled statewide in March. They estimate these deliveries were equal to around 269 truckloads of food and valued at about $19.2 million. Feeding Texas said that makes it hard for the food banks in its network, including the Central Texas Food Bank, to meet the current demand, especially with higher food prices. 

“It’s some of the most nutritious food that we can distribute,” Cole explained adding that food from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) makes up about a quarter to a third of a food bank’s inventory.  

The Central Texas Food Bank tells KXAN investigators it will lose $5.5 million in funding for the upcoming fiscal year after 40 deliveries of food valued at $1.7 million were canceled. 

“If nothing replaces these costs, at the end of the day, it will result in less food for families. We are going to do everything we can to ensure families do not go without, but we need everyone’s support. Federal nutrition programs are the first line of defense. Food banks are meant to be a supplement for households, not the sole provider of food,” said Sari Vatske, president and CEO of the Central Texas Food Bank. 

Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said this is not a “final decision — it’s a reassessment.” He added that there may be a revised version of the policy down the road and that the USDA’s budget cuts are intended to eliminate fraud, abuse and waste, and the state does not depend on this funding to maintain a strong program.

His office shared that the funding impacted includes The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS).

“We’ve been at the forefront for years, developing sustainable initiatives. Texas will continue to effectively operate successful Farm to School and Farm to Food Bank programs,” he said. 

His office also pointed out that while the transition occurs at the federal level, the state-funded Texas Surplus Agricultural Grant Program has allowed producers and growers to distribute a surplus of vegetables, fruits and other agricultural products to food banks.

Investigating fraud, waste and abuse 

Some Texans like Seeley, whose funding has been impacted, said they wonder why the focus isn’t on making sure benefits are going to Texans who qualify. 

The Texas Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General investigates allegations of fraud, waste and abuse by health and human services program clients. The OIG said in fiscal year 2024, the agency’s Beneficiary Program Integrity unit completed 16,331 investigations involving SNAP benefits and recovered $52,939,366 in SNAP overpayments on behalf of the Texans who rely on SNAP benefits.

“Concerns about a client’s household composition or unreported income comprise more than three-quarters of completed beneficiary investigations. Household composition cases usually involve an unreported household member with reportable income or a reported household member who does not live in the same residence,” explained Jeremy Fuchs, Press and Communications Officer, with Texas Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

Investigations also look into allegations of out-of-state residency, which is prohibited by SNAP rules. Fuchs said in fiscal year 2024, the OIG conducted 1,580 investigations where out-of-state shopping — recipients using their benefits exclusively outside of Texas for more than two consecutive months — or out-of-state residency were alleged. 

“One thousand seventy-five of those were substantiated for a total of $3,955,258 in benefits that should not have been paid to SNAP recipients, and which can potentially be recovered by the State of Texas,” he said. 

The OIG also conducts investigations into SNAP used by undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for the benefits. Fuchs said last year, out of 105 investigations alleging benefit use by non-U.S. citizens — allegations were substantiated in 49 of those cases, with total overpayments of $208,683.

Anyone can file complaints by vising www.ReportTexasFraud.com and clicking on the report fraud button, or by calling the OIG Fraud Hotline at 1-800-436-6184.