More families using food stamps to feed kids

[one...two...tree 2,762]

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The United States has more poor children now than it did a year ago.

As recession-hammered families increase, more are using food stamps to feed their kids, according to a study by the Brookings Institution and First Focus, a bipartisan child advocacy group

.

"They are a really good barometer, a kind of economic needs test," said Mark Rank, an expert on social welfare programs at Washington University in St. Louis. "If you're receiving food stamps and you're a child, by definition, you're in poverty."

Across the nation, 7 million people joined the food stamp rolls from August 2008 to August 2009, the study said. Users rose from 29.5 million to 36.5 million. Half were children.

States scattered coast to coast showed "very high growth" in food stamp caseloads. In Florida, almost half a million people joined the rolls, a 34 percent increase; in North Carolina, nearly 200,000, a 21 percent increase.

Other states that showed a high increase in the percentage of food stamp caseloads include Idaho, with a 36 percent increase; Washington state, up 32 percent; Arizona up 30 percent; Georgia, up 27 percent; California, up 21 percent; and Texas, up 20 percent.

"As parents lose jobs and as work becomes scarcer, it's only natural to see your needs-based programs have more people applying for that assistance," said Scott Rowson, a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Social Services.

The study appears to buttress a U.S. Census report last fall, which found that nearly one in five children live in poverty. Julia Isaacs, a Brookings scholar, said that could end up closer to one in four by 2012.

The food stamp program is now known as SNAP, for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Participants use ATM-like cards instead of the old scrip.

The benefits always have been aimed at a broader audience of the poor than most anti-poverty programs are. To become eligible, generally one must earn less than 130 percent of poverty guidelines - below $28,665 for a family of four - and have no more than $2,000 in the bank.

Unemployment was 4.9 percent in December 2007, when the government pegs the start of the recession. Now it's 10 percent. Many workers have seen their paychecks cut and benefits such as health insurance disappear.

Despite the food-stamp safety net, experts worry.

"Children in households that experience poverty are at risk of other kinds of problems, so it's definitely something to be concerned about," Rank said. "It has bad effects on families."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/201...stamps0113.html

[lostinblue 1,989]

http://www.rodale.com/hunger-united-states

World Food Day: Your Backyard Garden Can Help End Hunger

Eleven percent of the U.S. population and 17 percent of all American children live in households considered food-insecure, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines as "limited or uncertain access to adequate food." Food insecurity is particularly prevalent in households of single women with children, which make up 30 percent of all the food-insecure. Hunger falls into the category of "very low food security," which includes 4 percent of the population and, again, is highest in households of single women with children.

You are back to the same problem of poverty

Food insecurity is particularly prevalent in households of single women with children, which make up 30 percent of all the food-insecure.

You need 2 adults in a house hold to keep your head above water. Find a way to keep babys from having babys.

If you have one adult lose their job they still have the other income to keep afloat.

[Danno 1,228]

Jeez, now we have people suffering from "food insecurity".

Why don't we do this, figure up what food stamps gives a mother of two a month. Add in free lunches and free breakfast at school.

Too young for school? add in WIK.

Of course there are food banks and Pantries as well run by many churches.

I think you will find a parent has to barely add anything to feeding their own kids.

I don't mean to be... "mean" but, is one of the side effect of "food insecurity" over eating? It kinda hard not to notice the poorer one tends to be, the more over weight they tend to be as well.

(Oh I know, I know... that because they can only afford Cheap unhealthy food).

[Danno 1,228]

JUst to highlight my point, I looked up how much one can get from Food stamps in my state.

As you can see in the info below a family of three can bring in gross 2 grand a month and they will get $526 per month for food.

I am in a family of three and I know for a fact, I don't spend that much for food.... even with cleaning supplies, dog food and toilet paper.

I think it is fair to say, Food Stamps are generous enough that people collecting them barely have to put any of their own money into grocery shopping (sounds right, everyone pays but them).

Look over the chart, see how much your family would collect, then tell me you would be suffering from "food fixation" disorders.

Look no one wants to seek kids going hungry, but if you are collecting food stamps (not to mention other programs)... no one is going hungry!

Don't fill your pantry at others expense and then claim you are still hungry and we need to do more.

Income Reference Chart

Effective October 1, 2009

FNSU

SIZE

GROSS

INCOME

MAXIMUM BENEFIT

ALLOTMENT

1

$1174

$200

2

$1579

$367

3

$1984

$526

4

$2389

$668

5

$2794

$793

6

$3200

$952

7

$3605

$1052

8

$4010

$1202

Each Additional

Member

(+406)

(+150)

http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/dss/foodstamp/index.htm

Edited January 13, 2010 by Danno

[alienlovechild 75]

Why don't we do this, figure up what food stamps gives a mother of two a month. Add in free lunches and free breakfast at school.

Too young for school? add in WIK.

Of course there are food banks and Pantries as well run by many churches.

I think you will find a parent has to barely add anything to feeding their own kids.

I don't mean to be... "mean" but, is one of the side effect of "food insecurity" over eating? It kinda hard not to notice the poorer one tends to be, the more over weight they tend to be as well.

(Oh I know, I know... that because they can only afford Cheap unhealthy food).

There are parents who are addicted to drugs or booze can't function enough to put food in the refrigerator on a regular basis. Americans don't know real poverty until they see skinny kids begging next heaping piles of trash and watch old women fight for the equivilent of a quarter.

I've got more respect to the guys standing in a parking hoping to work as day laborers than the seeing same bums asking me for gas money or guys hanging out in front a store every day.

[lostinblue 1,989]

My parents church has a community garden. A lot of the older folks plant the food. Come august and september an awfull lot of food just wastes away. Tomatos, squash ect. They put a sign at the local food pantry anyone could pick some for free. Hardly anyone came . They wanted to stand in line and do no work for it. People need to prepare for a period in their life when things are a bit difficult. Spend today and not save for tomorrow. My sister has a friend who lost her job 3 weeks ago. The first thing she did was head to disneyland for 10 days. She is also a single unwed mother. 2 children. Maybe in 6 months she can add her name to the list of people who are "hungry" in america.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Steve, go to the grocery store and ring the bell of food stamps. Watch all those lil fat a$$ poor kids walkin out with theyre pepsi. Besides it enables the parents to buy there X-Box games.

[alienlovechild 75]

My parents church has a community garden. A lot of the older folks plant the food. Come august and september an awfull lot of food just wastes away. Tomatos, squash ect. They put a sign at the local food pantry anyone could pick some for free. Hardly anyone came . They wanted to stand in line and do no work for it. People need to prepare for a period in their life when things are a bit difficult. Spend today and not save for tomorrow. My sister has a friend who lost her job 3 weeks ago. The first thing she did was head to disneyland for 10 days. She is also a single unwed mother. 2 children. Maybe in 6 months she can add her name to the list of people who are "hungry" in america.

That's not just the poor but a lot of middle class people who blew their money on new SUVs, new or bigger house, big screen TV. . . then they were screwed when there house no longer rose in value way out of proportion its true value and were stuck with huge credit card bills. Now one parent or no parent has no job and they're running out of unemployment and hoping to live long to retire early and live on Social Security.

Edited January 13, 2010 by alienlovechild

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

... live on Social Security.

social security retirement payments are a joke

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

social security retirement payments are a joke

And video taping poverty, ROCKS?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

And video taping poverty, ROCKS?

Why, yes. It does.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Why, yes. It does.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Don't get me started on food stamps. The last two parties I observed paying for their groceries with food stamps left the grocery in recent model E series Benz and a shiny Hummer H2, respectively. There's a lot of abuse going on with food stamps. The fact that more people use them might mean not much more than that more people learned to play the game.

[Susita 175]

Unfortunately, people abuse food stamps and other programs like WIC, but there are many people that really do need the assistance. At least with food stamps, you are assured money for food and you don't have to decide between paying your rent or feeding your family.

Personal Story - WIC helped me out a great deal when the boys were babies. My ex decided to leave me with twin infants and run off and avoid his responsibilities when they were only a few months old. (Which till this day he is still doing btw). At that time, I was still on maternity leave. Going back to working full-time would have been pointless, given the cost of child care and the fact that I was found 'ineligible' for any kind of child care subsidy. I started to work part-time at night when others were home to babysit (mom, grandma etc), and with the help from WIC for the formula I was able to make ends meet for those rocky couple of months until I found a better situation that worked.

I was quite resentful for a very long time because of others who didn't actually 'need' assistance that were taking advantage of it, for example: mothers who received subsidies for childcare so they could just sit home and watch Maury however, I wanted to work a full-time job to support my family and was considered ineligible.

It seems like the current social service system encourages those that receive benefits to do nothing to improve their situation.

As for nutrition, cooking healthy food requires much more work than picking up a double cheeseburger with fries from Mickey D's. With the dollar menu, it's basically the same price to cook at home or eat takeout. Isn't that scary?

[Jenn! 918]

With the dollar menu, it's basically the same price to cook at home or eat takeout. Isn't that scary?

Depends on what you're cooking at home. If you eat a lot of pasta and beans you can feed a family of 5 on $5 easy.