- Families struggle to afford food, survey finds, By Jason DeParle, January 26, 2010, New York Times: “Nearly one in five Americans said they lacked the money to buy the food they needed at some point in the last year, according to a survey co-sponsored by the Gallup organization and released Tuesday by an anti-hunger group. The numbers soared at the start of the recession, but dipped in 2009 despite the continuing rise in unemployment. The anti-hunger group, the Food Research and Action Center, attributed that trend to falling food prices, an increasing use of food stamps and a rise in the amount of the food stamps benefit. More than 38 million Americans – one in eight – now receive food stamps, a record high…”
- Phila.-area district 2d-hungriest in U.S., study says, By Alfred Lubrano, January 26, 2010, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Pennsylvania’s First Congressional District – which includes Chester, South Philadelphia, and parts of North Philadelphia – is among the hungriest in the nation, according to a report released yesterday. The district, represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, is second only to the 16th District in the Bronx, N.Y., for so-called ‘food hardship,’ as measured by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a national nonprofit in Washington whose aim is to eradicate hunger. FRAC defines food hardship as the lack of money to buy enough food to satisfy a family’s needs. Using data from a survey of more than 500,000 Americans between January 2008 and December 2009, FRAC learned that more than 36 percent of households in the First District answered ‘yes’ to the question, ‘Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?’…”
- Many need more cash for food, report says, By Rita Price, January 27, 2010, Columbus Dispatch: “One of every five households in the Columbus metro area fell short of money to buy needed food at some point in the past year, according to a report based on daily Gallup surveys. The results, released yesterday by the Food Research and Action Center, put Columbus at No. 24 — worse than Cleveland and Cincinnati — in a ‘food hardship’ ranking of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas. Local anti-hunger groups say the numbers might not be as surprising as they seem. ‘Our food-pantry statistics track that,’ said Evelyn Behm, senior vice president at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. ‘It goes along with the record increases we’ve seen in the past two years.’ Others say Columbus-area respondents might rank worse because they’re newer to such a struggle and trying to get by on their own before turning to emergency help…”
Day: January 27, 2010
Food Stamp Program Enrollment – California, Idaho
- 1,500 families may lose food stamp benefits, By James Rufus Koren, January 23, 2010, Contra Costa Times: “Nearly 1,500 San Bernardino County families could lose some or all of their food stamp benefits if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest budget recommendation goes through. Troublingly, some groups say, families who stand to lose state-funded food stamps might not know they have those benefits until they’re gone. ‘The constituency who receives this are unaware of it in a way that would allow them to mobilize to fight it,’ said Matthew Sharp, who works with the nonprofit group California Food Policy Advocates. ‘The benefits are invisible to the client.’ In a Jan. 8 budget presentation, Schwarzenegger recommended eliminating the California Food Assistance Program, which provides food stamp benefits to legal U.S. residents who have not lived in the U.S. long enough to receive traditional federally funded food stamps. While the California Food Aid Program and the federal food stamps program – also called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP – are separate, Californians essentially apply for both programs when they apply for food stamps…”
- More Idahoans on food stamps than ever, By Brian Murphy, January 26, 2010, Idaho Statesman: “A record number of Idahoans are receiving food stamps, a sign that the state’s economy still struggles. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is processing 9,000 new food stamp applications each month, said Tom Shanahan, a department spokesman. More than 176,600 people are enrolled in the program – more than double the 2007 level. ‘We’re setting records every month,’ Shanahan said. ‘Food stamps are a good indicator of the number of people living near poverty. We’re seeing the effects of layoffs and high unemployment.’ Idahoans typically are reluctant to accept government aid, and the state has a relatively low rate of eligible people applying for aid. Around 60 percent of eligible people actually apply for aid, Shanahan said. A department official testified to lawmakers last week that 33 percent of people applying for help in the last two years had never applied before…”
2009 Enrollment in Assistance Programs
Welfare rolls up in ’09; more enroll in assistance programs, By Richard Wolf, January 25, 2010, USA Today: “Welfare rolls rose in 2009 for the first time in 15 years, but the 5% increase was dwarfed by spikes in the number of people receiving food stamps and unemployment insurance. The cash-assistance program that once helped more than 14 million people served an average of 4 million in the 2009 fiscal year, up from 3.8 million in fiscal 2008. By comparison, there were more than 37 million people receiving food stamps in September, an increase of 18% from the year before. The number receiving unemployment benefits more than doubled, to about 9.1 million. The disparity has caused some of those involved in passing the 1996 welfare overhaul to question whether it’s failing to help victims of the recession…”