Issue: 1211 Date: 11/7/2013
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Federal Benefits Drop For 220,000 In St. Louis City And County On Food Stamps
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Funding for food stamps dropped off sharply Friday after stimulus dollars for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ran out.
The additional funds had been used to give more food stamps per month to families and make more people be eligible for the program.
According to Sandy Moore, the president of St. Louis-based Urban Strategies, more assistance is needed; not less.
"Because the recovery has not been as quick as any of us had hoped and as the best economic minds had projected and because with the recovery it has resulted in a different kind of employment, generally lower paying per hour," Moore said.
Last month more than 220,000 people in St. Louis city and county received food stamps or about 21 percent of all households, according to the Missouri Division of Social Services.
Moore says the funding drop means a loss of $36 on average for households each month in SNAP benefits.
She says that amounts to two gallons of milk and four boxes of cereal.
Moore says that will mean low-income families rely more heavily on already-strained food banks.
