The June storms that hit Ohio left many people in desperate need. The government is stepping up to help, but as Jackie Couture reports, some of the people getting federal dollars didn't have any damage.

Moving around can be tough for Terry Slone. A hip replacement gone wrong landed him on disability, so he gets food stamps, but last month this military veteran noticed more money in his account.

"They just gave it to us, I mean I appreciate it, like I said," says Slone. "But that was a waste of money."

Slone and everyone else in Ohio on food assistance got extra money in early July. The late June storms that knocked out power to tens of thousands of people had Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services asking the federal government for emergency assistance for everyone on food stamps. A prorated 13.3% went on every EBT card in the state to the tune of over $10 million coming out of the federal coffers. That means even people who didn't lose power, people like Terry Slone, got your tax dollars.

"If you didn't lose no food and your power didn't go out, don't pay the people for nothing," says Slone. "It's like paying someone walking down the street with a lawnmower to cut your grass and he don't cut, you know, it's stupid."

A representative with the Department of Job and Family Services who disperses the SNAP benefits explained.

"Without a mass replacement, families who had no power and no food would have been forced to wait for hours at their county JFS office just to fill out an application for replacement benefits. There is an administrative cost associated with processing paper applications. The mass replacement allowed us to maximize assistance and reduce administrative overhead."

So the bottom line is administrators say taxpayers would have spent the money anyway in bureaucratic costs. Slone says there has to be a better way.

"I appreciate getting it but I'd like to give it back to them if I could," says Slone. "I didn't lose anything."

You can find all our WASTE WATCH stories on Fox17.com. Just go to HOT TOPICS and click on WASTE WATCH. You can also submit your ideas for WASTE WATCH stories in that same section.WASTE WATCH: SNAP Program