In food price crunch, more Americans seek help

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Thursday , May 08, 2008 at 2230 hrs for food stamps.

Doherty said people’s food stamps are running out more quickly due to higher prices — often within two weeks. More than ever are receiving stamps for the first time, she said.

“They’re just not able to make ends meet when they’re trying to raise a family on these meager salaries, with the cost of housing and now with the cost of gas,” she said.Maryland’s McGuire is one official who believes that the annual adjustments in food stamp dollars have been inadequate.

Nationally, the average benefit per person early this year was about $100 per month — around $1 a meal.

The government will adjust that payout in June, but people won’t see their benefits change until October.

Stanley, who receives no child support for her daughters, the youngest of whom is in the first grade, hopes that federal officials will act more quickly.

“If you’ve ever lived the crunch of that poverty level, you would understand that people need more,” Stanley said.

OUTREACH PARTLY BEHIND GROWING ROLLS

Program officials are quick to stress that food stamps were never intended to make up a family’s entire food budget, and point to other programs that can help needy families — school lunches, after-school programs, and food banks.

“We firmly believe that no American should go hungry,” said Kate Houston, a deputy undersecretary at USDA.

The growing rolls of food stamp beneficiaries is a mixed picture, Houston said, reflecting in part a success in reaching out to eligible people who hadn’t received help in the past.“The program is designed to expand and contract based on economic conditions,” she said.