A WALPOLE MOM was devastated: When she went to pay for her groceries recently using her state SNAP EBT card, she found her account empty and had no way to pay for food.

“In an instant everything was taken from us,” she told Channel 25, “and I have nothing for my children, no money to pay my bills.”

Every month in Massachusetts, tech-savvy thieves wipe out roughly 1,700 low-income families’ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, often forcing seniors or parents with children to go without sufficient food for the month. We can easily fix this, help keep families fed, and protect taxpayer dollars by following California’s lead and adding a secure chip to EBT cards.

This has always been a no-brainer – which is why your bank and credit card company did it years ago.

But improved card security became even more urgent in December, when Congress ended replacement of SNAP funds stolen from families, leaving them with no recourse when they are victims of theft. And that means that more than $1 million a month taken from Massachusetts families through no fault of their own, usually through skimming devices planted at grocery stores, is simply gone — wasting tax dollars and worsening food security.

Advocates estimate the cost to the state of transitioning to more secure, chip-enabled EBT cards would be about $5 million, with a $5 million match available from the federal government. That investment would nearly eliminate the $1 million per month theft of taxpayer-funded benefits.

Nearly every other credit and debit card in the marketplace utilizes chip technology to protect against card-skimming. Neglecting EBT cards leaves them as a prime target of thieves, who have engaged in sophisticated and coordinated efforts to steal SNAP benefits.

In 2024, the federal government finally provided national standards for states transitioning to chip card technology in the SNAP program. California’s experience has shown the way forward, particularly in how to bring grocers into compliance with the new cards.

The Healey administration needs to start now. Moving the Commonwealth’s 670,000 SNAP households to new cards is going to require a minimum of several months’ work, and — at the current rate of theft — each month means another $1 million stolen and another 1,700 families scrambling to pay for groceries.

The federal government isn’t just walking away from programs that help struggling families – it’s running away. And although the state can’t make up for every federal funding cut, we also can’t sit back and permit taxpayer dollars meant to cover families’ grocery bills to be siphoned off by thieves.

The Healey administration needs to adopt chip EBT cards to protect our tax dollars, and in the interim, it needs to continue providing families with funds to replace SNAP benefits stolen through skimming theft – theft that is preventable.

Over the last two years, Massachusetts was a national leader in providing state funding to cover losses not fully covered by federal rules. But, distressingly, those state funds recently ran out. Gov. Healey and the Legislature need to make a plan now for continuing to reimburse theft victims until chip cards are in place.

Given the rapid changes we are seeing in Washington, our state leaders must proactively defend low-income consumers and protect our safety net programs. The obvious solution is for Massachusetts to adopt technology that prevents theft, keeps families from going hungry, and safeguards taxpayer dollars.

Victoria Negus is a benefits policy advocate and Betsy Gwin is an attorney focused on SNAP and safety net benefits at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.