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Stimulus to Bulk Up Food Stamps

Caseloads up dramatically; bill to offer $16B to $20B in support

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted Feb 10, 2009 8:05 AM CST

(Newser) – The stimulus package set to pass Congress contains a measure to boost food stamp benefits by billions of dollars, reports NPR. The $16 billion to $20 billion increase—which would mean up to $79 more a month for a family of four—is a response to a drastic rise in applications. In Florida, for example, the caseload is up 500,000 people in 20 months. Says an official, “These are folks who, quite frankly, have never been on benefits before.”

The state is not alone in grappling with swelling applicant rolls. But critics worry about the long-term implications. Says a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, “Anybody who believes that they're going to scale this thing back after five years, I have a lot of waterfront property in New Mexico that I'd like to sell to them.”

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

Saad Hopkins, entering the University of Washington as a junior in the fall, gets groceries at the University District Food Bank Tuesday, July 15, 2008, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Lynda Wheeler holds her Link card, Illinois' version of food stamps, before paying for groceries shortly after midnight at One Stop Food & Liquors in Chicago on May, 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Shoppers at One Stop Food & Liquors in Chicago on May, 1, 2008. The market opens at midnight at the beginning of the month to allow aid recipients to start shopping as soon as they have food stamps. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

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We're not talking about letting people suddenly switch from fruit and vegetables to caviar and whatever. We're talking about letting people buy enough healthy food to get them through the month. - Jim Weill, Food Research and Action Center

Those commodities have to be trucked. Those commodities have to be shelved. Those commodities have to be sold and bagged, and transported home. All of that generates economic activity in the community - Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary

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Stimulus to Bulk Up Food Stamps