State has 3rd highest recipient rate in nation
NEW ORLEANS – The latest data from the United States Department of Agriculture shows that 852,000 Louisiana residents receive food stamps, up by 12.1 percent since July of 2009. Recipients now account for 19.0 percent of the state’s population, well above the current national average of 13.6 percent. Nationwide, there is now a record total of 41.8 million food stamp recipients.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Number of Individuals Participating*
|
July 2009
|
July 2010
|
Percentage Change
|
|
|
Louisiana
|
760,022
|
851,744
|
12.1%
|
|
USA
|
35,602,939
|
41,836,330
|
17.5%
|
Louisiana’s recipient growth over the last year was slightly lower than the national trend, which has been on the rise with the latest recession. Still, only Mississippi and Tennessee have higher participation rates – each with 19.9 percent versus Louisiana’s 19.0 percent. Wyoming’s rate of 6.5 percent is the lowest.
Leading States for Resident Food Stamp Participation
|
State
|
Percentage
|
|
|
1
|
Tennessee
|
19.9%
|
|
2
|
Mississippi
|
19.9%
|
|
3
|
Louisiana
|
19.0%
|
|
4
|
Oregon
|
19.0%
|
|
5
|
New Mexico
|
18.8%
|
|
6
|
West Virginia
|
18.7%
|
|
7
|
Michigan
|
18.5%
|
|
8
|
Kentucky
|
18.4%
|
|
9
|
South Carolina
|
17.9%
|
|
10
|
Maine
|
17.9%
|
|
USA
|
13.6%
|
Click here to read the full article.
Fergus Hodgson is the Capitol Bureau Reporter with the Pelican Institute for Public Policy. He can be contacted at fhodgson@pelicaninstitute.org, and one can follow him on twitter.
* Data as of October 4th, 2010.
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