Food stamp enrollment dropped by nearly 2 percent in April, to 43.6 million people, the lowest number of recipients since 2010 as the nation began to recover from recession, said the think tank Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. “In many states, the improving economy likely was a major factor,” said the center, which also pointed to effect of stricter eligibility rules.
April, the latest month covered in USDA data, was when benefits expired in roughly 20 states for able-bodied adults without dependents. So-called ABAWDs are limited to 90 days of food stamps in a three-year period except during periods of high unemployment. States began to re-impose the 90-day limit in January, meaning benefits would end in March.
Caseloads fell by 2.8 percent in states that imposed the 90-day limits, compared to the 0.8 percent decline in other states, said CBPP analyst Brynne Keith-Jennings. “Eight of the ten states with the largest percentage caseload drop that month implemented the time limit in January, including Florida, Missouri, Alabama, and Arkansas.”
The decrease of 773,000 recipients in April was the greatest one-month decline in food stamp enrollment since 2005, when “disaster” food stamps for Hurricane Katrina victims ended, said the think tank.