Wednesday, December 08, 2010 1:35 PM

Food Stamp Usage up 16.2% Nationally, over 20% in 13 States; Tables by State, Charts Nationally Since 1970 as % of Population http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/12/ ... e-to-rise/

The Wall Street Journal reports Food Stamp Rolls Continue to Rise http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/12/ ... e-to-rise/

42.9 million people collected food stamps last month, up 1.2% from the prior month and 16.2% higher than the same time a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Nationwide 14% of the population relied on food stamps as of September but in some states the percentage was much higher. In Washington, D.C., Mississippi and Tennessee – the states with the largest share of citizens receiving benefits – more than a fifth of the population in each was collecting food stamps.

Click on the above link to see a table of all 50 states.

Sample Details

•16.2% Year-Over-Year Change Nationally
•39.1% Year-Over-Year Change in Idaho
•28.7% Year-Over-Year Change in Nevada
•27.2% Year-Over-Year Change in New Jersey
•26.0% Year-Over-Year Change in Rhode Island
•25.9% Year-Over-Year Change in Utah
•25.8% Year-Over-Year Change in Florida
•21.5% of population in D.C. on Food Stamps
•20.4% of population in Mississippi on Food Stamps
•20.1% of population in Tennessee on Food Stamps

13 states had greater than 20% gains in food stamp usage. Not all of them were housing bubble states. Idaho led the way with a 39.1% year-over-year change.

Six states had a 25% change or greater. Texas just missed at 24.6%

The food stamp program is now called SNAP. It stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/snapmain.htm

Reader Tim Wallace has a couple of national charts I wish to share. Click on either chart for a sharper image.

Snap Participants by Year Since 1970



SNAP as a Percentage of the US Population

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nSTO-vZpSg...1600/snap1.png

Tim Wallace writes ...

SNAP numbers for September just came on line, 42,911,042 - up from 42,389,614 in August, an increase of 521,428 in one month.

Furthermore, SNAP participation is now up 5,992,094 from September of '09 and up 11,528,481 from September of '08 - just before the election based on "Change You Can Believe In".

Mike "Mish" Shedlock

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... -over.html