Food Stamp Levels Approaching All Time High

[Doug]

Driven by a painful mix of layoffs and rising food and fuel prices, the number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid program began in the 1960s.

The number of recipients, who must have near-poverty incomes to qualify for benefits averaging $100 a month per family member, has fluctuated over the years along with economic conditions, eligibility rules, enlistment drives and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, which led to a spike in the South.

See here.

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

Food stamps haven't exactly kept up with inflation, either. When I was on them (a 9-month stretch between my business going under and my return to college, since I couldn't find a job, while I was a single parent) was $87 a month for the three of us - or slightly under $1/day/person. That was in 1984-85. So food prices are rising and food stamps aren't - but the number of people on them are increasing big time (a much better indicator of employment than the current unemployment reports). And Beneke thinks we might be heading for a recession! (Is he totally isolated from reality or is he just pushing the R Party line?)