FRAC - Food Stamp Access in Urban America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:	CONTACT:
Thursday, October 28, 2008	Ellen Volinger, 202-986-2200 x3016 Jennifer Adach, 202-986-2200 x3018

Low Participation in Food Stamps Means
One in Three Struggling Urban Households Miss Out on Benefits and Hundreds of Millions of Federal Dollars Foregone

As Economy Unravels, Failure to Get Benefits to Eligible Families Deepens the Pain

Download the report
Food Stamp Access in Urban America: A City-by-City Snapshot

Washington, D.C. - October 28, 2008 - Food stamps are a critically important but underutilized resource in urban America, according to Food Stamp Access in Urban America: A City-by-City Snapshot, the Food Research and Action Center's (FRAC) latest annual survey of food stamp usage and hunger. FRAC estimates that only 67.8 percent of eligible people in 24 large urban areas studied participated in the program in 2006; as a result, cities lost out on nearly $1.5 billion in federally-funded benefits.

"At a time when millions more Americans are facing unemployment, shortened hours of work or reduced wages, failure to get food stamps to needy families is deepening the harm to them, hurting urban economies, and worsening the recession," said Jim Weill, FRAC president. "Cities have to do a much better job of reaching eligible people with food stamps. Households are crushed between rising food prices and falling incomes. Food stamps are a crucial way to help."

The benefits also help the local economy by getting more federal food stamp dollars to flow into cities. And, economists from across the political spectrum agree that food stamps are an effective way to stimulate the economy. As times grow tighter, cities must increase their outreach and other efforts, the report says.

Urban Americans are more likely to be poor, suffer from hunger, and pay more for food. In the 24 cities included in the report, all but one had a poverty rate higher than the national average of 13.3 percent in 2006. Also, cities recorded higher levels of food insecurity; 13.2 percent of households in principal cities nationally experienced food insecurity in 2006, as compared with 10.9 percent of households in the entire U.S. population.

Food stamps, considered to be the first line of defense against hunger, miss too many individuals in need.

Findings from the report include:

Food stamp participation in the surveyed cities was lowest in San Diego (Calif.), with only 29 percent participating, and in Denver County (Denver, Colo.), with 42 percent participating.
Participation was highest in Wayne County (Detroit, Mich.), with 98 percent of eligible individuals participating, and in Milwaukee County (Milwaukee, Wisc.) with 89 percent.
In total, nearly $1.5 billion in federally-funded benefits was left unclaimed by the 24 cities included in the report. The places that missed out on the most were Los Angeles County, California ($353 million); New York, New York ($241 million); and Harris County (Houston), Texas ($164 million).

As of October 1st, the Food Stamp Program is now known nationally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or "SNAP," although individual states are free to use other names. (For a list of state name changes, go to www.fns.usda.gov/snap/snap.htm.) The federal name change was included in the recently passed Farm Bill, and is one of many improvements to the Food Stamp Program. "With these changes, cities have an opportunity to reintroduce people to the program and see if they are eligible to receive the benefits," Weill pointed out.
As of May 2007 in the 24 cities included in the report, approximately 5.5 million people were receiving food stamps. More than half of the households receiving food stamps contained children, and nearly three quarters (73 percent) of the benefits issued were paid to households with one or more children. One in five urban food stamp households included an elderly person.

About the report: FRAC looked at food stamp participation rates, and benefits foregone, in 24 of America’s largest cities. Cities were selected based on size and geographical representation. A full explanation of the methodology used is included in the report. The full report, Food Stamp Access in Urban America: A City-by-City Snapshot, is available at www.frac.org/pdf/urbanfoodstamps08.pdf. The 24 cities are: Atlanta, Ga.; Baltimore, Md.; Boston, Mass.; Chicago, Ill.; Columbus, Ohio; Denver, Colo.; Detroit, Mich.; Houston, Tex.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Louisville, Ky.; Miami, Fla.; Milwaukee, Wisc.; New York, N.Y.; Oakland, Calif.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Phoenix, Ariz.; San Antonio, Tex.; San Diego, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; Washington, D.C.; and Wichita, Kan.

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The Food Research and Action Center (www.frac.org) is the leading national organization working for more effective public and private policies to eradicate domestic hunger and undernutrition.