When we learned the federal government would be releasing SNAP benefits at a reduced amount, we reached out to the community on Facebook, asking how this was affecting them.

We received an overwhelming response and the 21 newsroom phones rang off the hook, with people expressing dismay and concern.

A family of four received $160 in benefits, one woman on disability who is used to getting $120, received just $16 and others didn't receive any at all.

"I have six children and it has completely devastated me and I'm not sure what we're going to do," Amanda Allen in East Liverpool said. "My husband works, I work and it's just not enough," she said.

One Youngstown mother said she lost over 90 percent of her benefits.

"I work full time, I'm in school full time, I've got a daughter," Miya Merchant of Youngstown said. "I usually get $190 in stamps every month to feed us and today they loaded my card with $16," she said.

During our interview with Merchant, she was in her car on her way to pick up shifts in hopes of bringing in more money Wednesday night.

"That forces me to have to do more side hustles like Amazon Flex, Insta Cart, Door Dash, just to make sure that we've got food on the table," Merchant said. "They (federal government) don't care. They don't care, it doesn't affect them personally so it doesn't matter to them, we just have to do what we gotta do to continue to put food on the table," she said.

Merchant adds, this is a strain because her daughter also needs her attention, so does household maintenance.

"I just hope that whoever else is going through whatever I'm going through, I hope we all can just find help and get help or do something about this because truly it's not fair," Allen said.

If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, you can check out your local food bank or food pantry for assistance. Here's a guide.