Nearly 15 percent of all Americans participate in SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps), according to the newly-released U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) figures for May 2011. That’s a record 45,753,078 people. While many argue that SNAP spending is “out of control,” two examples illustrate that the program is working as it should be—serving more people during economic hard times:
- As poverty and unemployment have increased, the number of participants has also gone up since the beginning of the recession in December 2007.
- The May 2011 figures include people affected by tornadoes in Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia, who received benefits under SNAP’s disaster program.
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