1. Thousands of Georgians lost their food stamps after the state gave them an ultimatum: Get a job or lose your benefits.
2. The work requirements affected 12,000 food stamp recipients in 21 counties, several in metro Atlanta. The rules focused on unemployed people who do not have children or other dependents.
3. When the April 1 deadline came around for them to find work, more than half — 7,251 — were dropped from the assistance program, according to state figures. Some may have found jobs, some may have been reclassified as handicapped, and others simply lost their benefits.
4. The state expects to add another 60 counties to those with work requirements next year, and take them statewide by 2019.
5. Views on the work mandate vary widely, and intensely. People on the political right see it as a nudge to those who languish on public benefits. But those on the left believe many of the people the state deems able-bodied really can't hold a job due to physical and mental limitations.
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