28 Million Americans are on food stamps, thats almost 10%, and it's rising - but with food prices going up so much; they are falling even further behind (no worries, buy stocks)
One in 11 Americans receive food stamps, according to federal statistics. As the economy weakens, more and more people are turning to this support system
Over the past 6-9 months I've been quoting 1 in 10 Americans are on food stamps. Now the latest data shows we are up to 1 in 9 Americans. Our society continues to bifurcate [Dec 8, 2007: Do the Bottom 80% of Americans Stand a Chance?] slowly but surely, and my guess is most of those on food stamps are not enjoying the largess of an ever lifting stock market sloshing around with increasingly abundant US dollars.
Thankfully the stock market is telling us things on the ground are improving markedly; I hope those 1 in 9 people are getting the message.
- One in nine Americans are using federal food stamps to help buy groceries as the country's deep recession forced another 591,000 people onto the federal anti-hunger program at latest count.
- Enrollment jumped 2 percent to 33.2 million people in March, the fourth consecutive month that rolls hit a record, said the Agriculture Department. The average monthly benefit was $113.87 per person.
- In 20 states, as many as one in eight are on the food stamp program, according to the Food Research Center.
U.S. enrollment in recent months:
March - 33.157 million
February - 32.556 million
January - 32.205 million
December 2008 - 31.784 million
November 2008 - 31.097 million
October 2008 - 31.050 million
Sept 2008 - 31.587 million
[Jun 5, 2009: 1 in 6 Dollars of Income Now Via Government; Highest Since 1929]
[Feb 20, 2009: NYT - Newly Poor Swell Lines @ Food Banks Nationwide]
