A class action lawsuit has been filed against the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) regarding its supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP).

The lawsuit alleges the DHS has caused hunger, financial difficulties, and malnourishment by failing to process applications on time.

The lawsuit also alleges that DHS routinely loses important paperwork, mismanages documents, and cancels benefit applications without interviewing applicants.

One plaintiff, Brandi Tapia, said DHS lost documentation of an interview and denied her benefits claiming she failed to submit a pay stub. She had originally submitted her application in 2023.

However, she says that she had been through two interviews and turned in her pay stub no less than three times and documentation would later be found to prove they even had the pay stub on file.

And while eventually she would appeal and receive back benefits, she and her son were evicted in the wait time.

The lawsuit also included reporting stories on those facing SNAP benefit fraud, meaning their accounts were cleaned out with only a few cents to spare.

In 2024 over 24,000 people in Tennessee reported SNAP fraud.