|
Food Research and Action Center
In December 2006 food stamp participation at 26,363,031 persons was up over the month by 86,171 people.
The overall caseload for December 2006 was nearly half a million persons lower than the prior December, when some Hurricane Katrina, Rita and Wilma victims received disaster food stamp benefits.
At a time when more than 35 million people in the U.S. 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.
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.
Posted on March 22, 2007 06:29 PM
|
