Food (stamps) for thought
November 5, 2009Jon Brooks Comments OffThe Awl recently culled these facts about food stamps from various news articles:
1. “Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, researchers say.”
2. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture said nearly 200,000 retailers nationwide now accept food stamps, 20 percent more than in 2005.”
3. “In September, Texas processed 58.6 percent of applications within the 30 days required by the federal government. By the end of that month, nearly 42,000 families were waiting for a decision even though the deadline had passed.”
4. “Some 36 million Americans are on food stamps, an increase of nearly 10 million over the past two years…. Some 66 percent of those eligible participate.”
5. “A federal judge has ordered Indiana’s partially privatized welfare intake system to speed up decisions on food stamp applications, but the state has a year to meet its first target.”
That first item, by the way, comes from “Esimating the Risk of Food Stamp Use and Impoverishment During Childhood,” published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Brief abstract here.
