Food stamp data: Georgia
The number has dropped in the past year but is still nearly one in five of the state’s residents
People receiving food stamp assistance: 1,959,113
Change in past 12 months: down 1.3 percent.
Percent of state population: 19.7 percent
Breakdown of Georgia recipients:
By ethnicity
57 percent African-American (31 percent of state’s total population)
37 percent white (56 percent of population)
2 percent Latino (9 percent of population)
7 percent other
By income
Eligibility varies, but for a family of four the income cap is $28,665
26 percent have zero gross income
61 percent have incomes below poverty line
13 percent have income above poverty line
33 percent of households include someone working
By age
47 percent of recipients are school-age children or younger
46 percent are non-elderly adults
7 percent are elderly
State jobless rate
8.7 percent, down from peak of 10.4 percent in 2010
Food stamp data: the U.S.
Unlike Georgia, the nation has seen a rise in use of late
Americans receiving food stamp assistance: 47,637,407
Change in past 12 months: up 1.7 percent
Percent of national population: 15.2
By ethnicity
37 percent white
23 percent African-American
10 percent Hispanic
30 percent other, unknown
U.S. jobless rate
7.2 percent, down from peak of 10.0 percent in 2009
Source: Food and Nutrition Service, U.SA. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Labor Statistics
A recession-spurred boost in food stamp benefits ended last week, leaving recipients with less assistance and Congress to debate what happens to the entire, $80 billion-a-year program.
Whatever its decision, a lot of Georgians have a stake.
More than four years after the official end of the recession, the state’s job market is still weak and nearly 2 million Georgians — almost half of them children or school-age youths — are fed in part through the use of food stamps.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides help to 19.7 percent of the state’s population, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Food stamp use ballooned in the years after the economy plunged into recession, with the biggest surge as the economy hit bottom in 2009. But the recovery has been slow and the number of participants has remained higher than historical norms.
In Georgia, the number of food stamp participants dipped 1.3 percent between July 2012 and July 2013, according to federal figures, while nationally the number rose 1.7 percent.
Inside: A closer look at who gets food stamps
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