South By North Strategies, Ltd.

Last week, the U.S. Senate agreed to provide additional Medicaid and educational funding to state governments. Funding for those items will come from reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as Food Stamps. While the move is somewhat complicated and will not result in a short-term benefit reduction, the choice should call attention to the importance of food stamp assistance.

The severity of the recent recession has led to a surge in the number of persons receiving food assistance, which generally is limited to households with incomes no greater than 133% of the federal poverty level.

Between 12/07 and 4/10, the number of Americans receiving assistance grew by 12.8 million (+46%), climbing to 40.4 million from 27.6 million. Put differently, 13.2 percent of all Americans were participating in the program last April.

As the graph shows, the same pattern has occurred in North Carolina. Between 12/07 and 4/10, the number of Tar Heels receiving assistance grew by 411,400 (+45%), climbing to 1.3 million from 923,000 million. Put differently, 14.2 percent of all North Carolinians were participating in the program.