A record 46 million Americans, or 15 percent of the population, have received government aid to buy food this year, according to data released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The jump was driven in large part by a spike in the number of people getting food stamps in Alabama, a southern state which has been hit hard by natural disasters including tornadoes, the USDA Food and Nutrition Services said.
More than 250 people died and 1,730 were injured when tornadoes swept across the state in April, razing entire blocks in the university city of Tuscaloosa. About 1.7 million people received food stamps in Alabama in May this year - more than double the 808,000 who did in May 2010, according to USDA data.
Other states with more than one million food stamp recipients were states with high immigrant populations, such as Arizona, California, Florida and Texas. Populous states like New York and states like Michigan, which have been hard hit by the downturn in the car industry, also had more than one million people on food stamps. Nearly four million residents in both California and Texas received government assistance in May this year, the USDA said. More than three million in New York and Florida, and almost two million in Michigan received aid.
To be eligible for food stamps, a household cannot have more than $2,000 in so-called "countable" resources, including bank savings, and cannot earn more than 30 percent above the federal government's poverty guideline - $1,174 per month for an individual and $4,010 for a family of eight. Non-citizens who are in the United States legally are eligible for food stamps provided they meet income and resources criteria. Food stamp benefits vary from state to state and based on resources, but the average amount paid out in 2007 was $95 a month for an individual and $214 for a household.