Who uses Food Stamps? Millions of Kids

According to CNBC, the use of food assistance programs rose sharply during the recession, but while our economy has somewhat recovered, we still suffer from cut hours or low wages that don’t match inflation. Research has shown that many who receive benefits have at least one person in the household with a job, about 4 in 10. But many of the individuals who receive benefits cannot work.

Annual reports from the US Dept. of Agriculture show a large user of the SNAP program to be kids. Twenty Million – or 45 percent – of SNAP beneficiaries are children. Nine percent of the recipients were 60 or older, and 10 percent were disabled adults. The total cost of the program in 2012 was $78.4 billion, which has raised concern with lawmakers that costs are over the top. The Congressional Budget Office says that as the economy improves the number of people on food assistance will decline. But unfortunately the economy isn’t improving as fast as hoped. The recent Farm Bill, which introduces a number of benefits like greater access to organic foods, also cut food assistance by $8 billion over ten years.

The argument from detractors of the program, like Republican Rep. Paul Ryan is that programs like SNAP give people an excuse to not find work. Another critique is that the program is used to purchase unhealthy food. But research has shown that many who receive food assistance benefit nutritionally, and in some cases SNAP has actually reduced obesity levels.