What if my EBT card is lost or stolen, or my food is destroyed due to a power outage, fire or flood in my home?

To report a lost or stolen Bay State Access EBT card, call EBT Customer Service at 800-997-2555. DTA will replace your card, but DTA will not replace any SNAP benefits that are stolen from your account. 106 C.M.R. § 364.900(D). Once you report a lost or stolen card you can get a new PIN (Personal Identification Number) so benefits cannot be stolen from your account.

If food that you bought with SNAP benefits is destroyed in a fire, flood, power outage, or other household misfortune, you can get replacement benefits up to the amount of one month's SNAP benefits. 106 C.M.R. § 364.900(C). If you lose electrical power (generally for four hours or more), you may be eligible for replacement of any food that has spoiled as a result of the power loss (e.g. refrigerated or frozen food). You may also be eligible for replacement of food that perished or spoiled due to a fire or flood in your home. DTA will only replace the food that was purchased with the EBT benefits.

You may self-declare the loss of food provided you have confirmation of the power loss or disaster.  You need to do this within ten (10) days of the loss of food, and you have 10 additional days to provide verification of the loss. You are not required to bring in your spoiled food to DTA as evidence of your loss. See Appendix C for a copy of the DTA form “Statement of Loss/Request for Replacement due to Household Misfortune.”

Advocacy Reminder:

• DTA regulations say it will replace food destroyed as a result of a household "misfortune" only twice in a six-month period. This policy is not in line with federal SNAP regulations. There is no limit on the number of times you can get a benefit month replacement for food destroyed if you are a “victim of a disaster which disrupts commercial channels of food distribution.” 7 C.F.R. § 280.1.

Additional Policy Guidance: