Mississippi Top State When It Comes To Food Stamp Use

Mississippi was the state with the largest share of its population relying on food stamps according to The Wall Street Journal.

According to the Department of Agriculture’s latest figures, mapped out by The Wall Street Journal, 22 percent of citizens in The Magnolia State are currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Food-stamp use rose 2.8 percent in the US in April from a year earlier, with more than 15 percent of the US population receiving benefits.

The Wall Street Journal report continued on to say:

Food stamp rolls increased on a year-over-year basis, but were 0.4 percent lower from the prior month, the US Department of Agriculture reported. Though annual growth continues, the pace has slowed since the depths of the recession.

The number of recipients in the food stamp program, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is at 47.5 million, or nearly one in six Americans.

According to MSN, that’s more than one in every five people in the state and well above the national average of 15 percent.

21 percent (1.3 million people) of Tennessee is on food stamps, the same percentage in states like New Mexico (441,550) and Oregon (871,676).

New York alone has nearly 3.2 million people on food stamps, which still trails the 4 million getting assistance in Texas.

The Wall Street Journal stated “Illinois and Wyoming registered double-digit year-over-year jump in use, while Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Utah all posted annual drops.”

Welfare is commonly given to individuals who are unemployed, afflicted with an illness or disability, the elderly, those with dependent children, and veterans. A person’s eligibility for welfare may be constrained based on condition and need.

With the recession, is it all that surprising that states such as Mississippi have seen an increase in different welfare programs such as food stamps?

[photo credit: ecstaticist via photopin cc]