|
Food Research and Action Center:
In August 2006 food stamp participation at 26,127,843 persons was up over the month by 136,800 people.
The overall caseload for August 2006 was 362,308 persons higher than the prior August and nearly 8.4 million persons higher than in August 2001.
At a time when more than 35 million people in the US face a constant struggle against hunger, continuing to strengthen the reach of the Food Stamp Program is vital.
Food Stamp Program growth in recent years reflects continuing wage stagnation, state actions to improve access, the effects of the 2002 food stamp reauthorization implementation, and disaster relief.
In late 2005 caseloads grew significantly to serve victims affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, but largely have returned to pre-disaster relief levels.
Caseloads dropped through 1998 and 1999 as the economy improved and many states failed to get food stamps to low-income families who had left cash welfare for low-paid work.
Increases in participation since then likely have been driven by improved access to the program in states, including most recently for legal immigrants, by the weakened economy for low-income families, and (in September, October and November 2005) by the hurricanes.
Some reduction in poverty and improvement in the overall unemployment rate contributed to these Food Stamp Program caseload declines, but other factors, including negative program changes by Congress, interactions with the cash public assistance system that make food stamp access harder for eligible families, and lack of information about the program among potentially eligible people, explained much of the drop.
The period after March 1997 was also marked by implementation of cuts in Food Stamp Program eligibility for many childless, jobless adults.
Posted on December 1, 2006 07:52 AM
|
