- Some states adding assets to food stamp qualification, By John Wisely, October 19, 2011, USA Today: “How rich is too rich for food stamps? The answer depends on where you live. In Michigan, if you have $5,000 in liquid assets or a car or truck worth more than $15,000, you’re probably out of luck under new rules launched this month. Earlier this month, the state of Michigan began asking residents about their assets – homes, cars, stocks, bonds, even lottery winnings – in addition to income when they receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the formal name for food stamps. The decision to ask about assets rests with the states. Arizona, Texas and Indiana are among the states that ask. Oregon, Oklahoma and New York are among those that don’t, USA TODAY research showed…”
- Rochester region sees food stamp explosion, By Meaghan M. McDermott, October 23, 2011, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: “Since the Great Recession began in 2007, the number of people in the six-county region using food stamps has grown by nearly 50 percent. In that time, spending on the program locally has doubled. Although a portion of that increase may be attributable to a drive to get more eligible people signed up, there’s no denying that the uptick is a sign of ongoing economic distress. It comes at a time when incomes nationwide are down and poverty is on the rise. It’s a symptom reflected in increased demand at local food pantries and mirrors food insecurity trends nationwide…”
- South Floridians on food stamps continue to rise, By Donna Gehrke-White, October 24, 2011, South Florida Sun Sentinel: “Tens of thousands more South Floridians have gone on food stamps in the last year even though the recession has officially ended and the unemployment rate has improved, state statistics show. In Broward County, those on food stamps have jumped nearly 14 percent from September 2010 to last month with 140,010 receiving them, according to the state agency that oversees the federal program. Palm Beach County experienced a 16 percent jump from September 2010 to last month with 91,504 on food stamps…”
- Food stamps fraudsters using Web as tool, By Michelle Miller, October 24, 2011, CBS News: “In this economy, food stamps have become a lifeline for millions more Americans. Just this year, the government is spending more than $70 billion on food stamps. But there’s a disturbing trend: People are buying and selling the benefits online, as correspondent Michelle Miller reports. ‘We had received a lot of complaints about the easy accessibility of these cards,’ explains Steve Lowe, the director for fraud and accountability at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. ‘It wasn’t just, ‘Go down on the corner.’ You go on the web and make contact and try to make a purchase.’ In a hidden camera video filmed by the department in the parking lot of a large store, an undercover agent was seen buying a card with $200 worth of food benefits on it. She purchased it for $100 after finding out about it on Facebook. ‘Trafficking, what we call where people are selling their benefits on Craigslist or out in a parking lot, that’s a violation of the program,’ U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon said…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty