Food stamp use rises in July
Household participation in the food stamp program has been climbing so steadily that it has far surpassed the last peak set as a result of the immediate fallout following hurricane Katrina, according to SoldAtTheTop.
This chart shows population-adjusted food stamp participation along with the unemployment rate since 2005. Participation continues to swell with nominal benefit costs climbing 2.91 percent on a year-over-year basis to $6.26 billion for the month.
SoldAtTheTop
As a logical consequence of the prolonged economic downturn it appears that participation in the federal food stamp program is continuing to rise.
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'SoldAtTheTop' is not a pessimist by nature but a true skeptic and realist who prefers solid and sustained evidence of fundamental economic recovery to 'Goldilocks,' 'Green Shoots,' 'Mustard Seeds,' and wholesale speculation.
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In fact, household participation has been climbing so steadily that it has far surpassed the last peak (which looks like a minor blip by comparison) set as a result of the immediate fallout following hurricane Katrina.
The latest data released by the Department of Agriculture indicated that in July, 11,532 recipients were added to the food stamps program with the current total increasing 2.95% on a year-over-year basis while household participation increased 5.05% over the same period.
Individual participation as a ratio of the overall civilian non-institutional population has increased 1.39% over the same period.
Participation continues to swell with nominal benefit costs climbing 2.91% on a year-over-year basis to $6.26 billion for the month.
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