Food Stamp Beneficiaries Exceed 45 Million for 56 Straight Months

[mick silver]

Source: Free Beacon (http://freebeacon.com/issues/food-stamp-beneficiaries-exceed-45-million-for-56-straight-months/)

There were 45,188,655 beneficiaries of the food stamp program in December 2015, the latest month for which data is available. The number declined by 265,216 from November to December.
The USDA has been tracking data on participation in the program since (http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/pd/SNAPsummary.pdf) 1969, when average participation stood at 2,878,000. Since then, participation in the program has increased by more than 1,470 percent.

The number of food stamp recipients first exceeded 45 million in May 2011. Since then, the number has consistently exceeded 45 million, hitting a record high of nearly 47.8 million in December 2012.
Read more (http://freebeacon.com/issues/food-stamp-beneficiaries-exceed-45-million-for-56-straight-months/)



Share This Article...

[mick silver]

The number of individuals receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as food stamps, has exceeded 45 million for 56 straight months, according to data (http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/pd/34SNAPmonthly.pdf) released by the Department of Agriculture.
There were 45,188,655 beneficiaries of the food stamp program in December 2015, the latest month for which data is available. The number declined by 265,216 from November to December.
The USDA has been tracking data on participation in the program since (http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/pd/SNAPsummary.pdf) 1969, when average participation stood at 2,878,000. Since then, participation in the program has increased by more than 1,470 percent.
The number of food stamp recipients first exceeded 45 million in May 2011. Since then, the number has consistently exceeded 45 million, hitting a record high of nearly 47.8 million in December 2012.
Changes to food stamp policies made it easier for people to apply for benefits, made food stamps available to more people and the benefits became more generous, according (http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2012-march/what%E2%80%99s-behind-the-rise-in-snap-participation.aspx#.VuLwB3iprFJ) to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Economic factors alone do not fully explain the growth in SNAP participation,” states the agency. “Changes in SNAP policies, some of them associated with the 2002 and 2008 Farm Acts, have made benefits easier to apply for, available to more people, and more generous.”
At a House Committee on Agriculture hearing (http://agriculture.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3196) last week, lawmakers convened to review various options for states when implementing the program, and many focused their remarks on implementing work requirements to receive benefits.
According to Rep. Ted Yoho (R., Fla.), states that implemented the work requirement saw a decline in those resigning up for the program.
“In the state of Florida, we talked with our people that administer this program and they put the work requirement, as you know, on the first of January,” Yoho said. “From January to the end of February, the people that were on SNAP that had work requirements instituted in the beginning of the year, less than 8 percent have resigned up for the SNAP programs.”
Households on food stamps received an average monthly benefit of $256.51 in December 2015, and total monthly benefits cost taxpayers $5.73 billion.
According to Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.), our rising national debt will force programs like food stamps to be reformed since there won’t be enough money to fund them in the coming years.
“Unless we reform programs like the SNAP program and a number of other entitlement programs there is going to be a shrinking supply of funds for all of these programs given the fact that we now have $500 billion to $1 trillion annual deficits totaling at $20 trillion annual debt,” he said.
“I prefer to see SNAP actually as, the purpose of it is not so much a program but a pathway, you know a path that works in a functional way to lift people out of poverty, to achieve greater opportunity, to provide a means for upward mobility,” said Rep. Glenn Thompson (R., Penn.). “I’d obviously put SNAP in with a whole lot of other programs that don’t do that today, they tend to keep people down and suppressed and they never realize the American Dream.”

[mick silver]

the American Dream.”
This entry was posted in Issues (http://freebeacon.com/issues/) and tagged SNAP (http://freebeacon.com/tag/snap/). Bookmark the permalink (http://freebeacon.com/issues/food-stamp-beneficiaries-exceed-45-million-for-56-straight-months/).
Share (http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://freebeacon.com/issues/food-stamp-beneficiaries-exceed-45-million-for-56-straight-months/)
Tweet (http://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffreebeacon.com%2Fissues%2Ff ood-stamp-beneficiaries-exceed-45-million-for-56-straight-months%2F&text=Food Stamp Beneficiaries Exceed 45 Million for 56 Straight Months)
Email (?subject=Check Out http://freebeacon.com/issues/food-stamp-beneficiaries-exceed-45-million-for-56-straight-months/)




http://assets.newsinc.com/92365_75x27.png?t=1434586020KCK store owners plead guilty to theft from food stamps program
A Kansas City couple pleaded guilty to theft from the federal food stamp, or SNAP benefits, program.
KSHB - Kansas City, MO





http://assets.newsinc.com/92365_75x27.png?t=1434586020KCK store owners plead guilty to theft from food stamps program
A Kansas City couple pleaded guilty to theft from the federal food stamp, or SNAP benefits, program.
KSHB - Kansas City, MO





http://content-img.newsinc.com/jpg/2833/29246871/22746753.jpg?t=1434586020










http://launch.newsinc.com/share.html?trackingGroup=92335&siteSection=freebeacon_hom_non_non_dynamic&videoId=29246871


BACK
Embed<iframe width="590" height="332" src="http://launch.newsinc.com/?type=VideoPlayer/Single&widgetId=1&trackingGroup=69016&siteSection=freebeacon_hom_non_non_dynamic&videoId=29246871" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" noresize marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"></iframe>

Privacy Policy (http://www.newsinc.com/privacy-policy) | Terms of Use (http://www.newsinc.com/player-terms)


This video player must be at least 300x168 pixels in order to operate.
http://assets.newsinc.com/92365_75x27.png?t=1434586020KCK store owners plead guilty to theft from food stamps program
A Kansas City couple pleaded guilty to theft from the federal food stamp, or SNAP benefits, program.
KSHB - Kansas City, MO

















http://s2.freebeacon.com/thm/freebeacon/images/print-large.png (http://freebeacon.com/issues/food-stamp-beneficiaries-exceed-45-million-for-56-straight-months/print/)


http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/14062a3a7fc8e82199db277d208e6a64?s=68&d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.freebeacon.com%2Fthm%2Ffreebeaco n%2Fimages%2Fsmoking-man-100.jpg&r=g
Ali Meyer Email Ali (comments@freebeacon.com) | Full Bio (http://freebeacon.com/author/ali-meyer/) | RSS (http://freebeacon.com/author/ali-meyer/feed/)
Ali Meyer is a staff writer with the Washington Free Beacon covering economic issues that expose government waste, fraud, and abuse. Prior to the Free Beacon, she was a multimedia reporter with CNSNews.com where her work appeared on outlets such as Drudge Report and Fox News. She also interned with the Heritage Foundation and Pacific Research Institute. Her Twitter handle is @DJAliMeyer, and her email address is meyer@freebeacon.com.