Saturday, December 30, 2017

Seven Reasons 2017 Was the Year of the Food Stamp Turnaround

ROBERT F. BUKATY/AP
This year ushered in a change in how many Americans enrolled in the food stamp program and how much the government spent on it.
Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) declined by 4.6 percent in the past year, and the cost of maintaining the program also declined, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.
There are several reasons for this shift that have to do with the economy, as well as policies at the state and federal levels of government.
Here are seven reasons why 2017 ushered in this food stamp turnaround.
1. More Than 1.3 Million People Have Dropped Off the Food Stamp Rolls Since Trump Became President
An estimated 1.3 million fewer Americans are receiving food stamps since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017.
According to the latest data, SNAP enrollment decreased by 3.2 percent, or 1,368,288, since January. With the exception of August 2017 when Hurricanes Harvey and Irma struck Texas, Florida, and parts of Louisiana, SNAP enrollment has been on a steady downward trend since Trump took office.
2. The Cost of Maintaining the Food Stamp Program Hit a Seven-Year Low
The amount of money the federal government spends to maintain SNAP fell to a seven-year low at the end of 2017, when it spent an estimated $68 billion on the program.
The last time government spending on SNAP reached that low of an amount was in 2010 when it funneled $68.2 billion into the program.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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