The dramatic rise in Massachusetts residents on food stamps — from 200,000 in 2001 to nearly 900,000 today — reflects two developments: the difficulties that many families face in an increasingly stratified economy, and the work that this state has done to ensure that everyone who qualifies for food stamps gets them. About 36 percent of beneficiaries are children, 15 percent are senior citizens, and about 5 percent are veterans.
But the political will to pay for food stamps is waning. Funding was once guaranteed by a coalition of urban Democrats and rural Republicans who voted together to pass the farm bill, which tied food stamps and agricultural subsidies together. But that coalition has unraveled. The House recently separated farm subsidies out, and voted to cut $40 billion from food stamps over the next ten years. The Senate's version cut $4 billion. The fate of the farm bill remains unclear. But one thing is certain: The $1.5 billion that the federal government gives Massachusetts each year for food stamps is in jeopardy.
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This summer, Governor Patrick, whose family relied on food stamps during his childhood, warned that tough times are on the way. Twenty-one percent of Bostonians rely on food stamps, along with 45 percent of Springfield residents and 25 percent of Worcester residents.
These families are already facing a cut in benefits, as the boost incorporated in the latest stimulus package expires. The average single person with no dependents has been receiving about $135 a month. This month, that amount dropped by about $11. That may not sound like a lot. But to people earning less than $958 a month — the maximum for individuals who receive food stamps — it's significant. To highlight their plight, City Councilor Tito Jackson recently lived for one week on the amount given to food stamp recipients: $4.50 a day.
"For breakfast, I had Cheerios; for lunch, ramen; for dinner, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," Jackson said. He acknowledges that the diet was far from healthy. "When I went to go purchase food, my biggest concern was not health. It was: 'Am I going have enough for the week?'"
This summer, US Representative Jim McGovern did the same. The Worcester congressman ate brown rice, pinto beans, canned tuna, and frozen vegetables, said Michael Mershon, his aide. "I was walking behind him with a calculator saying, 'You can buy two bananas, but not three,' " Mershon said. The lesson? "It's really hard to be poor. It takes a lot of thinking and planning ahead."
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The good news is that demand for food stamps is leveling off. As the economy recovers, the Congressional Budget Office expects federal spending on food stamps to drop over the next seven years to 1995 levels. Still, as the income gap widens, it is useful for elected officials to get a taste of what it is like to live on food stamps. Everybody in office who will vote on this issue ought to do so.