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The Food Stamp Program

The Food Stamp Program is a federally funded nutrition program designed to alleviate hunger and malnutrition. The program provides monthly benefits to low-income households to be used for purchasing food.

Despite the nutritional benefits of participating in the Food Stamp Program, many eligible Vermonters are not enrolled. The top three reasons people don't apply for food stamps:

Many people mistakenly believe they are not eligible for food stamps Stigma associated with using food stamps People report that the application and re-application process was difficult to complete

Food stamps are good for Vermont. Research by Project Bread and the Center on Hunger and Poverty at Tufts University has shown that participation in the Food Stamp Program significantly improves low-income families' nutritional intake. In 2006, the federal government issued up to 8.2 million dollars each month in food stamp benefits to Vermonters. That's over 53 million federal dollars for the year that is spent on foods from local farmers and grocery stores.

Some facts about participation

During 2006, monthly participation in the Food Stamp Program in the U.S. averaged 26,735,518, including over 10 million children in 11,759,273 households. The average monthly benefit per person was $94.05, and the average monthly household benefit was $213.83. Nationally, $30.1 billion in food stamp benefits were distributed during 2006.

• Between November 1996 and November 2001, there was a 27.8 % decrease in Food Stamp Program participation among Vermonters, as participant enrollment dropped from 54,130 to 38,833 people
• Since the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger began its Food Stamp Outreach Project in 2001, participation among eligible people in Vermont has increased to 50,261
• Vermont 's average monthly participation in the Food Stamp Program during 2006 was 47,741 people. This brought $51.6 million in benefits into the state that year
• In 2006, the average monthly benefit per household in Vermont was $178