A word about food stamps
A word about food stamps
I am not an elected servant of the people. But people know me as a journalist for the American newspaper "R.Reklama", where my articles are published in Russian.
I am not a politician. But dozens of people are asking me to help with food stamps starting in November 2024. Many say that I am the last resort! Smile, dear ones.
I invited politicians to answer questions, I spoke to police officers, I was in the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, where they explained that a hacker was sitting in prison in another country, where he was beaten and forced to hack the secure Food Stamps Office website, and I know that the issue is not simple. Now they have learned about other scammers, and there have been a lot of calls. For several days in a row, I sat on the phone for four hours, holding a piece of paper with a list of people in my hands, hoping to get through, find out, achieve. At five in the evening, I hung up - there was no one in the office, although a sweet voice on the phone in English said: "We appreciate your patience, do not hang up."
And I went to the Food Stamps Office. There was not just a line, but a line of pain. Some were waiting silently, some were crying. But surprisingly, people were asked to fill out an application in English and on a computer. Some Russian-speaking people received letters in Spanish, which I translated using my phone. Among the sufferers, there were many Russian-speaking people, many people greeted me.
I plucked up my courage and asked to see the supervisor. They told me to get a number and didn't let me in. They said that the only phone gets calls from all over New York. If only they knew that I wanted to ask for a separate phone for a quick connection! That's how restless I am!
Then they told me to make copies of the documents of those I brought with me. The security guard, looking smart, sent me to the library across the street, in the rain, saying that they would make copies there, inexpensively, for 10 cents a sheet. And then she said that if my food stamps hadn't been stolen, then I had nothing to do here. I had to explain that in 30 years in America I had never received food stamps, but all these years I had been helping people.
When I asked what was next, they said, "Wait, they'll probably look into it if your food stamps are missing. File a lawsuit. But it's not known when the hearing will be." It's worth noting that a person whose food stamps were stolen at the beginning of the year contacted me, and they sent him a letter recommending that he file a lawsuit. He filed a lawsuit, received a paper that the trial would take place, but when — they forgot to write down the date. So, to this day, we still haven't found out when the trial will be.
I would like to add on my own behalf: if your food stamps were stolen, freeze the card after buying groceries. Keep receipts. Do not collect money on the card, buy food and put it in the refrigerator. Do not be upset - elderly and sick people will not be abandoned in America. And do not let them scare you with the adoption of the One Big, Beautiful Bill. They must pass a law at the Congress level so that the stolen food stamps are compensated to elderly and sick people from city and state funds.
But I would like to mention two Russian-speaking employees who gave me an application that can be filled out in Russian by hand. I am always very pleased when I meet Russian-speaking employees in various offices who show what professionals are. One of them is a person who really helps people - Y. Tsibushnik. And I am very pleased that for many years together with Ari Kagan we went to court and to meetings with politicians and achieved that there are Russian-speaking translators at elections and in American offices.
I love, pity and understand you, my dear readers. Be healthy, food stamps are not the biggest loss.
Marina Lagunova
