Federal Programs in Demand

Federal Programs in Demand

December 8, 2009, 6:23 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Child Nutrition, food stamps, SNAP, Washington

A recent New York Times article notes that the number of Americans utilizing SNAP benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly referred to as food stamps) has grown by almost 10 million people in the last 2 years. Additionally, an interactive map details percentages of the population using SNAP benefits  by county across the U.S.

The map reveals 9% of King County residents utilizes SNAP benefits, with 15% of children benefiting from the program. However, this was one of the lowest rates in Washington. In Cowlitz County, which is part of Food Lifeline’s service area, 34% of children were receiving food from the SNAP program–that is over 1 in 3 children. Furthermore, these numbers reveal a huge increase in participation in the program in the last two years. Participation rates in Snohomish County, for example, have increased by 73% since 2007.

The Times reports that nationwide almost 1 in 4 children receive food from the program! This report is just one of many that reiterates the idea that the usage of federal food assistance programs is tremendous and  has increased drastically in the past few years. A great number of those benefiting from these programs are children.

In recognition of the need for adequate, healthy food for all children, Food Lifeline has launched an online petition urging Congress to improve our federal child nutrition programs,  which include school meals, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Please sign our petition to let your lawmaker know that these programs are vital for ensuring that children have access to adequate, nutritious meals.

2 Comments

2 Comments so far
Leave a comment

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI