Thread: Universities encourage students to enroll in food stamp prog

Universities encourage students to enroll in food stamp program

By Aleksandra Kulczuga - The Daily Caller 03/27/10 at 1:09 AM


About 20,000 people sign up for food stamps every day, and college students across the country are the newest demographic being encouraged to enlist.

Portland State University devotes a page on its Web site to explaining the ease with which students can receive benefits, along with instructions on how to apply. The school says food stamps are not charity but rather a benefit all honest taxpaying citizens can afford. The U.S. Department of Agriculture renamed food stamps the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) in 2008, instituted electronic debit cards instead of coupons, and began an aggressive push to expand eligibility. This is from the school’s site:

Here are some additional SNAP facts:
• Over half of all U.S. citizens will use SNAP at least once during their lifetime.
• SNAP is not a charity. As a taxpayer, you are paying into this program and, when needed, you can reap the benefits.
• There are enough SNAP dollars for everyone that needs them. As a matter of fact, about 20 percent of Oregonians who are eligible for SNAP do not apply.
• Students receiving SNAP can defer their student loans while they are receiving benefits.
• Applying for SNAP is easy. In most cases, you will not have to apply more than once a year.

Traditionally food stamps are for the working poor and single parents, but colleges are trying to make it as easy as possible for students to obtain federal assistance, no matter their socio-economic background.

Oregon has a state-wide non-profit which includes a special focus on food stamps for students:

Being a college student is hard work! Not just academically, but financially too. Many students are surprised to learn they may be eligible for SNAP (food stamps). Students who meet income guidelines may qualify if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

Full-time student who works at least 20 hours per week.
Full-time single student who is caring for children younger than the age of 12.
Full-time married student who is caring for children younger than the age of 6.
At least a half-time student who is actively working any hours in a work-study program.
Note: federal financial aid including Pell grants, Perkins loans, Stafford loans and most work-study is not counted as income against student eligibility.

In addition, the school notes that the federal government is working to eliminate the stigma associated with taking the government coupons to the checkout line:

Your EBT card looks and works like a debit card. You swipe it as you would a debit card, select “EBTâ€

Full-time student who works at least 20 hours per week.
Full-time single student who is caring for children younger than the age of 12.
Full-time married student who is caring for children younger than the age of 6.
At least a half-time student who is actively working any hours in a work-study program.

That covers a large number of people.

Psalm 139:14

how many are Illegal Aliens

A year ago, or perhaps two, I posted a story here about 44 percent of college students being on food stamps in Florida.

[quote="vortex"]


A year ago, or perhaps two, I posted a story here about 44 percent of college students being on food stamps in Florida.



Yep......college kids receiving FS is certainly not a new phenomenon and neither is the fact that they are eligible.

I think it's just a little more widely known these days and probably more are having to utilize them as jobs have been lost to cheaper labor and the economy has now sunk into the abyss overall.

[quote]Adam Sylvain, a sophomore at Virginia’s George Mason University, recounted a recent conversation with friends in his dorm room. “My roommate told me he applied for food stamps, and they told him he qualified for $200 a month in benefits,â€