Hunger and Children in Connecticut

The 2013 edition of Connecticut Kids Count, released this week by the Connecticut Association of Human Services, shows across the board increases in SNAP participation, both nationwide and in Connecticut. The number of households receiving SNAP assistance in the state more than doubled from 2005 to 2010, and the trend line shows no signs of slowing down. The increase for child recipients has been more modest, climbing 18% from 110,374 to 131,130. A big part of this caseload jump isn’t from more people falling into poverty, but from the 2009 eligibility expansion that allowed states to raise the income limit for SNAP benefits from 135% of the Federal Poverty Line to 185%. This increased the number of SNAP-eligible individuals in Connecticut by more than 200,000.

Kids Count also found that eligibility for free or reduced-price (F/R) school meals increased 7.6% across Connecticut since 2006. While urban centers like Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport continue to have the highest rates of F/R school meal eligibility, suburban communities like Manchester and East Hartford are trending upward to levels closer to cities like Norwalk and Stamford. The dramatic increases in eligibility of all counties shows that the need for food assistance has grown in all communities regardless of socio-economic make-up. This is seen specifically in the higher eligibility rates observed in New London and Litchfield Counties, two counties with varying economies.