Slow-Growth Economy Spikes Food Stamp Reliance This week, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to release its latest
update on the food stamp program. It's an important indicator of
the nation's economic health — and the prognosis is not good.
Food stamp use is up 70 percent over the past four years and
that trend is expected to continue. The spike began in late-2008
and early-2009 when the worst of the recession was triggering
massive layoffs and home foreclosures. Although the economy has
been growing since mid-2009, the pace has been too slow to
absorb the nearly 14 million people without jobs. Nearly half of
those have been out of work more than six months. As a result,
the number of people seeking federal help with groceries has
been soaring. At this time four years ago, before the recession
hit, about 27 million people were using food stamps. Today 46
million get help through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program — what most people call food stamps — which is roughly
15 percent of the