States push to get food to needy

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=300385

Monday, April 14, 2008

By Christine Vestal, Stateline.org Staff Writer

As the economy sputters, states are taking extraordinary measures to help people keep food on the table, and the federal Food Stamps program is their primary tool.

This year, soaring food and energy prices and lost jobs have led a record number of people to enter the program — more than in any year since the program began in 1964. But even as the number of applicants spirals, states are reaching out to millions more who may not realize they are eligible or are reluctant to participate.

Only 65 percent of Americans with incomes low enough to qualify for Food Stamps seek help, leaving many who either go hungry or end up relying on other federal and state assistance programs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers the program.

With strapped budgets, states have an incentive to use as much of the open-ended federal food aid program as possible, because none of the money comes out of their pockets. USDA funds 100 per cent of the benefits, while states pay a little more than half of administrative costs.

Spending $36 billion, the Food Stamp program is expected to serve 28 million people nationwide in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2008, an 8 percent increase in participation over the year before, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

“It’s smart for states to promote Food Stamps, because that and unemployment checks often are enough to delay the need for other types of public assistance — such as welfare and Medicaid — that put pressure on state budgets,” said poverty expert Sheri Steisel at the National Conference of State Legislatures. By giving people the money to buy groceries, states also stimulate their local economies, she said.


FULL story at link.