The use of food stamps has increased dramatically in the U.S., as the federal government ramps up basic assistance to meet the demands of an increasingly desperate population.
1 in 7 Americans rely on food stamps
The use of food stamps has increased dramatically in the U.S., as the federal government ramps up basic assistance to meet the demands of an increasingly desperate population.
The number of food stamp recipients increased 16% over last year. This means that 14% of the population is now living on food stamps. That’s about 43 million people, or about one out of every seven Americans.
In some states, like Tennessee, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oregon, one in five people are receiving food stamps. Washington, D.C. leads the nation, with 21.5% of the population on food stamps.
“The high unemployment rate caused the high participation rate,” said Dottie Rosenbaum from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank.
But it’s not just the nation’s stubbornly high unemployment rate of 9.8% that’s driving the increase in food stamp use. Some states are expanding their definitions of poverty to include more people.
At the same time, the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act boosted annual funding to the nationwide food stamp program, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, by $10 billion.
The average recipient receives $133 in food stamps per month, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That amount varies from state to state; in Hawaii the average is $216, while it’s $116 in Wisconsin.
But the Recovery Act funding increased the maximum food stamp benefit by 13.6%, which translates to about $20-24 dollars per person per month.
The U.S. government considers food stamps to be effective stimulus for the economy, because the recipients usually spend them right away.
Idaho saw the biggest increase in its food stamp program, with a spike of 39% compared to last year, followed by Nevada, at 29%, and New Jersey, at 27%.
New Jersey’s food stamp program expanded at least in part because the state raised its poverty level in April, according to Nicole Brossoie of the state Department of Human Services. That let the state add 35,000 people to its food stamp rolls, an increase of 5%.
Also, Brossoie said that program has been made more accessible to poverty-stricken residents.
“Through newsletters, posters, counseling and other outreach, the stigma associated with food stamps has diminished and more individuals and families are seeking assistance,” she said.
What happens when the jobless give up?
The government is also beefing up unemployment benefits. The unemployed will get a 13-month extension to file for additional unemployment benefits, which can last as long as 99 weeks in states hit hardest by job loss.
As the job market continues to dog the economy, the increase in food stamp funding is set to remain in place for nearly three years.
Dottie Rosenbaum said the hike in food stamp benefits is set to expire Nov. 1, 2013. Typically, food stamp funding increases every year to match inflation. But if Congress does not extend the stimulus funding beyond the 2013 cutoff, then food stamp benefits will revert to their original levels, but still be adjusted for inflation.
She said the budget office is forecasting a potential drop of $49 a month in food stamp benefits for a family of three, or $59 for a family of four, if the stimulus program is not continued.
President Obama, while signing a child nutrition bill on Dec. 13, said he was working with members of Congress to extend the food stamp funding.
family of 6
how much would get a family of 6 in NY/
i dont understand
i dont understand why ppl dont just work and get a job instead of sitting at home all day
to #2
not everyone can find a job. the job market is non existent, like hello!!!!
tipshim
Its worth to have many kids, just for the food stamps. Soon they will be excepting food stamp at the airlines. Isn’t that great.
Chicken
To # 2 and # 4
Now you laugh, just wait, until your kids are going hungry because the only job you can find is paying minimum wage. And then you are told that you are – overqualified.
And do not forget tuition.
Appreciative
Us, the majority of us in crown heights, in which most are on food stamps need to realize the true rightousness of balabatim around the world who support kollels and shluchim!
#3
i think alot of ppl are just too lazy! there are always jobs – maybe very low pay but still there
#5
not me! im studying to be a rehab medicince therapist and they are all in extremely high demand. secular education comes 1st then religios learning comes 2nd
To #8
Your knowledge of how to spell simple words seems to reflect your stellar secular education<end of sarcasm>. Secondly, how dare you state in a Lubavitch forum that secular education comes before Limud haTorah(!)
Nieder un Grub
#8 from the way yoo rite inglish yoo hasnt got no seculer edukashen and the way yoo is so rood yoo hasnt got no religos lerning neether.
GO-D-S RIGHT HAND MAN
the fact is there will always be givers and receivers yes it is better to give than receive particularly advice as the late benjamin franklin mentioned~~~~~some demographic groups are reliant on the success of others so it is in the best interests of all parties to accept their lot and responsibilities~~~~the receivers have a responsibility to act as priests and levites or risk extinction, the givers have a responsibilty to produce and give enough responsibly “DON’T LET THEM FOOL YA,DAYLIGHT”
#9 and 10
First of all, I was half asleep and i wrote that very fast when I wrote that last night! Second of all, learning torah is wonderful. However, it wont get you a job where you can support a family. That is exactly why i would never have children until im a therapist (very soon). I want to have a very large income (which i will definately be earning quite soon) before I have a large family. Many of my friends (married with kids) learned secular studies first and have great jobs and then learn torah on the side. That is the way to do it! if you just learn torah, how do you expect to earn an income. Fine, be homeless, because you basically are.
To #12
My dear sir, even in your second post you misspelled definitely.
Secondly, the Torah frowns upon postponing children until financial serenity. Thirdly, don’t be so arrogant about your large income.
#13
Im not trying to be arrogant about my high salary but im simply glad that ive worked increadably hard in school (earning a master’s degree) in order to make a living. I would never want to deprive my children of necesseties. After i get my MS (masters of science) and my therapy liscence i will have IyH a very large family.
to #14
to # 14. Sorry to say, even a Masters might not help you in this economy. There are many people with degrees and years of experience that are without a job right now. I would suggest you try to add some humility to your “resume”. Hashem is the one who gives a person his parnosa. It is decided on Rosh Hashana how much a person is going to make, regardless of what job he has. I just hope that you won’t be too disappointed when you get to the “real world” AFTER you graduate, and you realize that the “very large income” you are expecting, may not some as fast and as simple as you have been led to believe. (You can’t be arrogant about an income you don’t even have yet. At this point you are jobless just like the most of America.) Just a piece of advice- don’t make your happiness dependent on your income. Don’t wait to get married or have children- blessings that (Bezras Hashem) will last, until you have your so called “large income”, which is something transient (as today’s economy shows us.) That said, I really hope that life doesn’t slap you in the face too hard when you find out that the job and pay check that you think is waiting for you with your name on it doesn’t come. (Well, tracht gut vet zayn gut… I give you a brocha that you should have a great parnosa and that you should raise many yiddishe chassidishe children who won’t have to learn secular studies and can really devote themselves only to Torah since they don’t have to worry about their gashmiyus because their father is so well off. May it be so for you and for all of Klal Yisroel!) [btw, I am not the person who wrote the previous responses.]
Thank our Rebbe
Guys, If you have Food Stamps, you’ll find this very interesting.
http://www.chabad.org/there…
A black politician involved in creating the Food Stamp program shares how it was because of what the Rebbe told her when she met with him.
see Chabad.org:
…“a phone call from the Rebbe’s secretariat – a simple ”the Lubavitcher Rebbe wants to see you“…
The rebbe told her: ”This country has so much surplus food, and there are so many hungry people. You can use this gift that G‑d gave you to feed hungry people. Find a creative way to do it.”
Shirey Chisholm went ahead to create the food stamp program.
Food for thought when you swipe your card…
#15
Firstly, thank you for explaining yourself in a polite manner! bH the degree that i am getting, in that specific profession is actually so highly needed that people are getting jobs right after graduate school (because you take your liscencing exam). I know that as a fact. Secondly, please dont tell me that i have not hit the real world as you do not know me. I have hit the real world since i was young. I know how hard life is and all its struggles has only made me fight harder. In terms of having kids and getting married. I plan on getting married IyH this year. However, having children until i have a larger income (since now i make peanuts) will have to wait. And as with that torah studies…i very well want my kids to learn secular studies first and also torah studies (a dual curriculum school) – as i am modern orthodox and will raise my children in a modern way with a strong jewsih faith.