CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Personal information of 43 Greater Cleveland Food Bank clients that was inside an employee's car last month was lost after the vehicle was stolen from Steelyard Commons shopping center, the food bank confirmed Monday.

The information included Social Security numbers, dates of birth and Medicare data and was part of applications for assistance that the food bank worker had collected on the day of the car theft, said Karen Pozna, director of communications.

That worker is no longer employed at the agency, said Pozna said, who decline to give specifics.

The food bank sent letters last week to clients whose information was stolen, informing them of the data breach and listing ways to reduce chances of identity theft. No one has reported identity theft, the food bank said, but it offered the affected applicants free credit protection services for one year.

"We took quick action," Pozna said. "We take privacy very seriously."

The food bank is investigating its internal controls, she said, adding, "We are putting safety procedures in place to be sure this does not happen again."

The Greater Cleveland Food Bank fights hunger and promotes good nutrition in six Ohio counties.

Pozna gave this account of how the data was stolen:

The food bank outreach employee spent Friday, Jan. 27, driving to various community locations helping residents fill out paper applications for food assistance benefits as part of her regular duties. The 43 applications the worker collected that day were in a tote bag inside her car when the vehicle was stolen that day from Steelyard Commons.

The paper forms used are standard procedure, Pozna said. Under food bank procedures, the outreach worker had 24 to 48 hours to return the applications to the food bank's offices, Pozna said, but that didn't happen.

Pozna said the outreach worker was not signing up clients at Steelyard Commons, and it is not known why she was there.

The car's theft was reported to the food bank and police the same day. The vehicle has not been recovered, Pozna said.

"We do take the incident seriously," Pozna said. "We feel terrible for the clients."

She said she has no reason to believe the stolen information has been used.

A 62-year-old man, who asked not to be named for privacy reasons, was among those who received letters from the food bank informing him of the data theft. In an interview with The Plain Dealer, he wondered why sensitive information isn't immediately entered into a computer.

"It [the food bank] is not doing a good job of protecting people's personal information," he said. "It seems very sloppy."

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