U.S. Food Stamp Enrollment Sets New Record

by Spence Cooper on 05/05/09 at 9:05 am

Food Stamps Are in High Demand

Monday’s government figures indicate 32.55 million Americans enrolled for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Food stamp enrollment set a record for the third consecutive month. The USDA reports an increase in February of 350,000 people, up 4.8 million people from one year earlier.

Five states reported increases of more than 3 percent for February: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. Enrollment jumped in 43 states from January. Texas had the largest enrollment, 2.93 million, down 1.7 percent, followed by California with 2.59 million, up 1.7 percent, and New York state with 2.25 million, up 1.6 percent.

According to Food Research and Action Center “Currently, one in three eligible people are missed.” — so the figures are even higher.