The federal government is spending millions to encourage more Americans to apply for food stamps, or rather the Supplemental …
food stamps
Why Don’t More People Use These Free Services?
If you take advantage of your local library’s e-book lending services, or make use of your cable company’s “TV Everywhere” option that allows you to access shows on the web at no extra charge, you’re in the minority. In fact, …
Who Wants to Play ‘Food Stamp Challenge’?
Come on down! This week, all comers are welcomed to be “contestants” in a challenge simulating what it’s like to live on food stamps, or SNAP benefits as they’re now called. Elected officials and everyday citizens in one U.S. city are trying to get by with a food budget of just $5 daily, which is the average individual benefit.
Almost Half of Americans Live in a Household Receiving Government Benefits
According to U.S. Census data, 48.6% of the population lived in a household that received some form of government aid in the second quarter of 2010, which rose slightly from the previous quarter — another sign of how dependent on federal aid Americans have grown during the Great Recession.
‘Downsized’: A Brady Bunch for the Recession Era
The Bruce family has one parent with a job, two houses that have been foreclosed, and seven kids—some of whom go dumpster diving to find anything useful or sellable when the rent is due. They were once flush with cash, and then they lost everything. Sounds like a formula for a reality show!
Take It From Me: Money Lessons from 7 Very Different People
There are financial lessons to be learned from a single mom on food stamps who finagles Caribbean vacations, an Oscar-winning actor who is too cheap to play golf at private clubs, and a man who tricked himself into saving money by pretending he was going to be a father.
12 Signs of Continued Hard Times
Including more participation in food stamp programs and more people drinking beer at home, along with fewer people investing in stocks, buying videogames, going to the movies, and working at jobs that match their skill sets.
Ten Signs of a Still-Troubled Economy
Falling birth rates! Record numbers enrolled in anti-poverty programs! A spike in murder-suicides! Homeowners taking on remodeling projects! (OK, that last exclamation point wasn’t justified, but I was on a roll.) And more.
Food Stamp Foodies
“I’m sort of a foodie, and I’m not going to do the ‘living off ramen’ thing,” said one 31-year-old resident of Baltimore who recently qualified for $200 a month in food stamps—and who used that money to prepare a dinner of roasted rabbit with butter, tarragon and sweet potatoes. “I used to think that you could only get processed food …
