Food Stamp Use Declines Slightly

The US Department of Agriculture reported on Monday that the number of Americans using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also called Food Stamps, fell slightly between December of 2011 and January of 2012, the most recent month for which data is available. 64,307 fewer citizens received SNAP benefits in January than in December, for a total of 46,449,850 Americans, at a cost of more than $6.15 billion for the month. The number of people receiving Food Stamps in January of 2011was 44,187,874; in January 0f 2010 it was 39,431,128; and at the beginning of President Obama's administration, January of 2009, it was 31,983,716.

In March, USDA reported December's SNAP usage at the historic, all-time high of 46,514,238 beneficiaries.

But the Agency on Monday revised this figure to 46,514,157, a difference of 80 beneficiaries. December's numbers are still an increase of more than a quarter million citizens from November's revised total of 46,286,314. The government spent $6.21 billion on Food Stamps in December (revised), with participation in the program up more than 5% from a year earlier.

The December number, even revised, with about 1 in 7 Americans using the nutrition safety net, was the highest level of use since President Obama took office. From October 2011 forward, the calculation is for FY 2012. In FY 2011, More than 46.3 million people received a total of $75.3 billion in SNAP benefits, according to USDA.

According to USDA, in 2010 SNAP application data showed that 47% of beneficiaries were children under age 18, 20% of households "contained a person with disabilities, and 8% were age 60. "Nearly" 30% of SNAP households had earnings, and 41 percent of all SNAP participants lived in a household that had earnings. Jobs were the primary source of income for most of these households. 34% of beneficiaries were white; 22% were African-American; 16% were Hispanic; 4% were Native American; 3% were Asian; and race/ethnicity was not reported for 20%. A USDA PDF: The Face of SNAP Participation.

In August of 2011, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack characterized the nutrition safety net as a "direct stimulus" for the economy that was creating and saving jobs. The Secretary was responding to May 2011 data, when close to 46 million people--or 1 in 7 citizens--were using the program.

"Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity," Vilsack said. "If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone has to stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, ship it. All of those are jobs. It's the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times."

*White House photo by Pete Souza.