food stamps

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Welfare Rolls Soar Along With Unemployment

Many make shift as jobless benefits run out

(Newser) - Welfare rolls are on the rise nationwide for the first time since President Clinton signed a bill overhauling the system in 1996, the Wall Street Journal reports. Welfare recipients’ ranks fell in some areas at the beginning of the recession, but now 23 of the 30 biggest US states are...

US Aid Rules Perplex Needy in Downturn

(Newser) - Hobbled by the recession, millions of Americans are struggling to navigate benefit programs that dispense aid in often arbitrary and frustrating ways, the New York Times reports. In many cases, it's all about geography. Need food stamps? It's better to live in Missouri than California. Unemployment? The lucky live in...

Record 32.2M Get Food Stamps

(Newser) - More than 32 million people in the US are now receiving food stamps—a full tenth of the population, Reuters reports. The record enrollment in January marks the third time in 5 months the total has increased. Numbers rose in all but four states. Recipients got an average of $112....

Child Services Probed Octuplet Mom

Police have visited home eight times; family plans to move

(Newser) - A pre-octuplets Nadya Suleman was investigated by LA’s Department of Children and Family Services, TMZ reports—and cops have been called to her last two homes eight times for reasons ranging from a missing child to a feared break-in. DCFS visited the home in July after a neighbor complained...

Stimulus to Bulk Up Food Stamps

Caseloads up dramatically; bill to offer $16B to $20B in support

(Newser) - The stimulus package set to pass Congress contains a measure to boost food stamp benefits by billions of dollars, reports NPR. The $16 billion to $20 billion increase—which would mean up to $79 more a month for a family of four—is a response to a drastic rise in...

Feds May Use Food Stamps to Improve Nutrition

Food stamp and school lunch programs could be revamped to encourage nutrition

(Newser) - The Obama White House may move to revamp food aid so it encourages healthy eating, reports the Washington Post. One idea gaining favor: Double the value of food stamps if they're used to buy fruits and vegetables. While anti-hunger advocates have long objected to such government meddling, opposition is softening...

Food Stamp Use Nears Record High
Food Stamp
Use Nears
Record High
Nov 26, 2008 6:05 AM CST

Food Stamp Use Nears Record High

Rising unemployment set to push benefit numbers past 30M

(Newser) - Rising unemployment is expected to push the number of Americans on food stamps to an all-time high of more than 30 million this month, the Washington Post reports. Food pantries say they are also experiencing a surge in demand and a hunger hotline in Washington DC says its calls have...

Struggling College Students Turn to Food Banks

Soaring cost of staples drive students to charity pantries

(Newser) - With some groceries costing 30% more this year, food banks have surprising new customers: college students. About 150 visit a Seattle food pantry each week, up 25% from last year, while a Denver college food program has seen its numbers double. "With things the way they are, a lot...

Congressional Screwup May Force Farm Bill Do-Over

Pages missing from bill sent to Bush

(Newser) - A paper-shuffling error may force Congress to repeat its work on the $289-billion farm bill already passed—and vetoed by President Bush. The version of the bill sent to the president was missing a section, Reuters reports. That makes the president’s veto theoretically invalid. House Democrats tried to re-insert...

House Overrides Farm Bill Veto; Senate to Follow

Bush says $300B measure too wasteful

(Newser) - The House today overrode President Bush's veto of the $307 billion farm bill, and the Senate is expected to follow suit tomorrow morning, the Washington Post reports. Bush issued the 10th veto of his presidency this afternoon, complaining that the wide-ranging measure gives too much money to rich farmers and...

House Passes Farm Bill With Veto-Proof Margin

It now goes to Senate and is expected to become law

(Newser) - The House today passed a $300 billion farm bill by a lopsided vote of 318-106, more than enough to override a threatened veto from President Bush, the New York Times reports. The measure now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to pass with even stronger support. Bush has...

Record 28 Million Americans to Get Food Stamps

Slip into poverty a grim economic indicator

(Newser) - In an economic indicator that paints a grim future for swaths of the US population, an all-time record 28 million Americans are expected to be close enough to poverty to receive $36 billion in food stamps in the coming fiscal year, reports the New York Times. There is a surge...

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