CBO Projects The Number Of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamp) Recipients Will Remain Above Pre-Recession Levels Over The Next Decade

Posted by Milton Recht:

From Congressional Budget Office, "Snapshot of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" posted by Kathleen FitzGerald on April 16, 2013:

The number of people receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called Food Stamps) has risen sharply in recent years—from about 26 million in 2007 to nearly 47 million in 2012. Total spending on SNAP has also grown significantly—from $35 billion in 2007 to $80 billion in 2012. Those increases are largely related to the severe recession and slow recovery: SNAP participation and spending automatically rise during periods of economic weakness because people’s incomes are lower. Legislation has also affected SNAP participation and spending in the past few years; the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (as amended) increased the maximum SNAP benefit until November 2013. SNAP participation generally declines when the economy improves, though typically with a substantial lag. CBO projects that participation will follow that pattern again in the coming years.

Source: CBO