Record 47,791,996 on food stamps

On Friday, the United States Department of Agriculture quietly released new statistics related to the food stamps program, officially known as SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). The numbers reveal, in 2012, the food stamps program was the biggest it's ever been, with an average of 46,609,072 people on the program every month of last year. 47,791,996 people were on the program in the month of December 2012.

The federal government also says that in a given month in 2012, the number of households on food stamps was 22,329,713.

The state with the highest average number of participants per month in 2012 was Texas, with an astonishing 4,038,440 folks drawing from the program. The second highest is California, with 3,964,221, and then Florida, at 3,353,064.

Washington, D.C., with an estimated population of 617,996, had an average of 141,147 participants. Meaning, roughly 23 percent of folks living in D.C. are on food stamps, according to the numbers provided by the federal government. The participation rate in Texas, which has an estimated population of 26,059,203, 15.5 percent. Read more >>

New all time record number of 45.8 billion on food stamps

As the European news flow overflow continues, it is useful to occasionally look at how America's own economy is doing. After all remember that the latest paradigm is that the US will decouple from everyone (as is always foolishly and erroneously assumed whenever the ROW turns lower) and carry the weight of the global economy on its own shoulders. So here is this month's refresh from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which informs us that in August, a new all time record number of Americans, or 45.8 billion, relied on food stamps for sustenance. More...

Food Stamp Rolls Continue to Rise

More people tapped food stamps to pay for groceries in September as the recession and lackluster recovery have prompted more Americans to turn to government safety net programs to make ends meet.

Some 42.9 million people collected food stamps last month, up 1.2% from the prior month and 16.2% higher than the same time a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Nationwide 14% of the population relied on food stamps as of September but in some states the percentage was much higher. In Washington, D.C., Mississippi and Tennessee – the states with the largest share of citizens receiving benefits – more than a fifth of the population in each was collecting food stamps. More...

Food Stamp Usage Soars Among Working Families

Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture reviewed by The Associated Press shows that 32 states have adopted rules making it easier to qualify for food stamps since 2007. In all, 38 states have loosened eligibility standards.

Eligibility for food stamps varies from state to state, with the 11 most generous states allowing families to apply if their gross income is less than double the federal poverty line of $22,050 for a family of four on the U.S. mainland. The threshold is higher in Alaska and Hawaii.

With more than 1 in 8 Americans now on food stamps, participation in the program has jumped about 70 percent from 26 million in May 2007, while the nation's unemployment rate rose from 4.3 percent to 9.2 percent through September of this year. More...

Americans Receiving Food Stamp Soars to Nearly 41 million

Image via Wikipedia

The number of Americans receiving federal aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, soared to a record 40.8 million in May, according to government data released shortly before the Senate voted to cut billions from the food stamps budget.

The Senate voted Thursday to cut $12 billion from the program in order to help fund a $26 billion package to help states avoid teacher layoffs.

But according to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures, the number of people on the food stamp rolls has been growing to record levels for 18 straight months. Nearly $5.5 billion in aid went out to beneficiaries in May alone. The number of May recipients marked a 19 percent increase from a year ago.

"That is a historic high," USDA spokeswoman Jean Daniel said.

The sustained increase in food stamp recipients coincides with sustained high unemployment. The jobless rate dipped to 9.5 percent in June, but has hovered above 9 percent since mid-2009. More...

Food-stamp recipients up to record 39 million

Source

Almost 39 million Americans received food stamps in December, the most ever, as the jobless rate hovered near a 26- year high, the government said.

Recipients of the subsidies for food purchases climbed 23 percent from a year earlier and rose 2.1 percent from November, the U. S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday in a statement on its Web site. The number receiving the benefit has set records for 13 straight months.

Food aid climbed as the national unemployment rate reached 10.1 percent in October, the highest since June 1983, and remained at 10 percent through December before easing to 9.7 percent in January.

An average of 40.5 million people will get food stamps each month in the federal fiscal year that began Oct. 1, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said last week. The figure is projected to rise to 43.3 million in 2011.

Nevada had the biggest increase in the percentage of the population receiving the coupons, up 49 percent from December, USDA figures show. Texas had the most recipients, at 3.31 million, topping California’s 3.11 million.

US food stamps set ever-higher record-32.8 million

Reuters
A record 38.2 million Americans were enrolled in the food stamp program at latest count, up 246,000 from the previous month and the latest in record-high monthly tallies that began in December 2008.

Food stamps are the primary federal anti-hunger program, helping poor people buy groceries. The Agriculture Department updated enrollment data on Friday with a preliminary figure for November.

USDA estimates up to $58 billion will be spent on food stamps this fiscal year, which ends Sept 30, with average enrollment of 40.5 million people. Food stamps were renamed the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program in 2008.

Participation has surged since the financial-market turmoil of late 2008 and has set records each month since December 2008, when it reached 31.78 million. Enrollment is highest during times of economic distress.

More than 1 in 6 Tennesseans on food stamps

wkrn.com
More and more Tennesseans are turning to food stamps to make ends meet. Nearly 1,186,000 Tennesseans, or more than one in six residents, currently receive some kind of food stamp assistance and the number continues to climb.

At the start of each month, the lines are always long at the Department of Human Services' family assistance office just north of downtown. News 2 caught up with Kathy Bruce while she waited in line on Monday.

Her husband suffered a massive heart attack two weeks ago and will be out of work for the next two months. "We can't live on my paycheck alone so I thought we could at least get help with food," she told News 2. "When you are down and out, you are willing to go to any lengths to get what you need."

For Amanda Higgins and her 16-month-old son, food stamps are their sole means of support.

"[Food stamps are] extremely important," she told News 2. "My son has got to have milk, my son has to have rice, snacks, all the things to eat, and so do I, you can see I am a pretty thin person."

The staggering 1,186,000 Tennesseans on food stamps today is some 300,000 more than just two years ago. Between mid-2007 and mid-2009, the number of people receiving assistance grew 66%.

Residents can apply for food stamps at the facility located at 1000 2nd Avenue North or on the Department of Human Services' Web site.

Record 36 Million Americans on Food Stamps

Reuters reports the number of Americans receiving food stamp assistance soared above 36 million for the first time in August, the eighth month in a row that enrollment set a record, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.

USDA said 36.492 million people were receiving food stamps, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In July, enrollment stood at 35.851 million. At the current rate, an estimated one in eight Americans receive benefits.

The program, which helps poor people buy food, has seen enrollment jump by 4.707 million during 2009 amid a lingering economic downturn in the United States. Participation grew by 2 million people from May to August.

In the latest data, the average person received $132.99 in August, compared with $101.31 in August 2008.

A Record 35 Million on Food Stamps

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Record breaking numbers received food stamps in June, the Department of Agriculture said on Thursday, with more than 35 million Americans receiving assistance. The numbers are 22 percent higher than in June 2008. The number of Americans receiving food stamps rose by more than 700,000 people compared to May. The USDA administers the food stamp program, which was renamed in October as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, through its Food and Nutrition Service. The program helps to cover grocery costs for poor Americans.

The average recipient of food stamps in June received more than $133 in assistance. The average household received more than $293. Overall, the USDA distributed more than $4.6 billion in food stamps in June. They went to 35,122,123 recipients. June was the eighth straight month that the number of people on food stamps rose.