FOOD STAMP REQUIREMENTS LOWERED - New Guidelines Help Unemployed, Income Alone Determines Eligibility

(03/28/2009)

West Virginia food stamp recipients are getting a 13.6 percent increase in their monthly allotments, according to state officials. The average household on food stamp rolls in the state had been drawing $204.08 a month. That amount will increase to about $232. Officials say the requirements to receive food stamps have been lowered. The federal Food Stamp Program began 48 years ago in McDowell County. Essentially, income alone is now used to determine eligibility. The amount of assets such as real estate or cars no longer is a factor. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates the nutrition program, had said the purpose of the change was to help Americans who had been tossed onto the unemployment lines by the recession. About 295,025 West Virginians currently receive food stamps,or 16% of the state's population. About $304 million in federal money was spent on food stamps for West Virginians last year. That number is expected to rise $41 million this year. The recent adjustment is permanent.

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