- Pennsylvania to impose asset test for food stamps, By Alfred Lubrano, January 10, 2012, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Pennsylvania plans to make the amount of food stamps that people receive contingent on the assets they possess – an unexpected move that bucks national trends and places the commonwealth among a minority of states. Specifically, the Department of Public Welfare said that as of May 1, people under 60 with more than $2,000 in savings and other assets would no longer be eligible for food stamps. For people over 60, the limit would be $3,250. Houses and retirement benefits would be exempt from being counted as assets. If a person owns a car, that vehicle also would also be exempt, but any additional vehicle worth more than $4,650 would be considered a countable asset. Anne Bale, a spokeswoman for DPW, said the asset test was a way to ensure that ‘people with resources are not taking advantage of the food-stamp program,’ funded by federal money…”
- Thousands in Philadelphia eligible for food assistance never sought it, group says, By Alfred Lubrano, January 5, 2012, Philadelphia Inquirer: “In hard times, it seems unthinkable that people would miss out on millions of dollars to which they’re entitled. But that’s precisely what’s been happening with food stamps in Philadelphia. An estimated 180,000 city residents who were eligible for food stamps in 2010 never enrolled in the program, known as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, according to new calculations by the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. That’s up from 150,000 in 2008, according to coalition numbers, the latest available…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty