Some 43.2 million people received food stamps in the latest count, equal to 13 percent of Americans, say USDA data that show enrollments dropped in nine of the last 12 months. The antihunger group Food Research and Action Council said participation fell by 2.15 million people in the 12 months ending last October, the most recent month available.
Two cross-cutting factors are at play, said FRAC. The strengthening economy is improving the financial well-being of many households at the same time that “harsh time limits” ended benefits for able-bodied adults without children. Those people are limited to three months of benefits in a three-year period except during periods of high unemployment.
Enrollment in food stamps peaked while Congress was writing the 2014 farm law. Conservative Republicans unsuccessfully pushed for the largest cuts in a generation on grounds that the antihunger program was becoming too large a burden on middle-class taxpayers. The program had 47.6 million participants and $80 billion in costs in fiscal 2013.
A chart book by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities about food stamps is available here.