FICRY

pengrinâ„¢

In today’s financial crisis, 1 in every 9 Americans are feeding their families with stamps. There are currently 33.8 million Americans on food stamps– a number that far exceeds the the surge in food stamp users in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. In the past year, family participation in the food stamp program has increased 21.6% and individual use has increased 19.14%. Given that unemployment and food prices are still on the rise, the number of Americans on food stamp will continue to increase in the coming years.

To qualify for food stamps, recipients must have annual salaries less than 130% of the poverty line, roughly $27,000 for a family of 4. Stacey Dean, director of food stamp policy in Washington, explained “People sign up for food stamps when they lose their jobs, or their wages go down because their hours are cut.” In areas that have suffered huge lay offs, the numbers are even more staggering. In the throes of auto industry bankruptcy, 1 in every 8 Americans in Michigan currently participate in the food stamp program. This is a 200% increase from the year 2000.

Thankfully, congress has responded to America’s newfound dependence on stamps. Despite protest from Republicans looking to slash spending, the house passed a bill that would increase federal funding for food stamps by 14%. Beginning on October 1st, the food stamp program will have $123.8 billion in its budget, more than half the total budget for federal agriculture and nutritional programs. The federal government is also expanding its Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children by 10%.

Do you have your own food stamp story? Add your comments below and follow the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and reddit by clicking the icons.