Americans' Food Stamp Use Nears All-Time High

The number of Americans on food stamps may exceed 30 million for the first time this month, putting a spotlight on hunger during a period of increasing unemployment and rising food prices. “Economists say an increase in food stamp benefits would help the economy overall by concentrating relief on those most likely to spend the money quickly.”

"We soon will have the most food stamps recipients in the history of our country," said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center, a D.C.-based anti-hunger policy organization. "If the economic forecasts come true, we're likely to see the most hunger that we've seen since the 1981 recession and maybe since the 1960s, when these programs were established."



30 million is approximately 10% of our population. And the sad thing is that food stamps, originally intended to supplement a family’s food budget, nowadays is far more likely to be the family’s entire food budget. The policies of the past 8 years have only made this worse. Thanks, George.

Source: WaPo