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According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the number of people using food stamps is not only decreasing, but doing so at a faster rate than before. They used the most recent data available, measuring the figures from October of 2013 to February of this year, and found really good news all over. When SNAP numbers fall, it’s a sure sign that the economy is recovering in all aspects, as people living near or below the poverty level are finally getting a chance to pull themselves out. Let’s take a look at those numbers, and why they’re finally changing for the better.

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Numbers Point to Less Use of Food Stamps

Although it’s mid-May right now, the most recent figures available from the USDA are from February. In that month, the USDA reported that 46.2 million Americans used food stamps, or about 13.3%. In total, $5.8 billion in benefits were handed out, which makes it the least amount of money handed out in a February in four years. If you remember, that was just about a year after the Great Recession, the most tumultuous time economically since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Even better, the number of Americans who were in the SNAP program this past February marks the lowest level in almost three years when we haven’t seen that figure since August of 2011. To put 42 million into perspective, the peak of Americans using food stamps happened just over a year ago in March of 2013 when 47.7 were in the program, or about 15.1%.

The Effects of the Recession

It’s hard to think of anyone who didn’t feel consequences from the recession, whether they were merely uncomfortable (such as for millionaire CEOs) or financially disastrous (like for pretty much everyone else in the country). In particular, though, food stamps use soared right after the recession and showed no signs of slowing down.

We all know the general reasons why it kept growing and growing: too many people were stricken with unemployment, it was easier to become qualified for SNAP benefits, the latest Farm Bill hadn’t yet been passed that would make a series of cuts, the government was actively courting more and more people to sign up, and the sluggish economy wasn’t creating the kinds of jobs people needed to get back on their feet.

In terms of actual numbers to provide a context, only 28.2 million Americans (8.95%) were on food stamps before the recession hit in 2009. Once it stormed onto the scene, though, that number almost doubled when another 20 million more joined up. There wasn’t much good going on in the country at that time, except if you worked for Fox News. Then you received a whole bunch more new material to skew and play with.

The Sun’s Parting from Behind the Clouds

As we mentioned before, SNAP numbers are falling, and they’re falling at a faster rate than before. It’s still a tad too soon to say with absolute certainty that this trend will continue, but we’re crossing our fingers that it does.

And just to keep riding the high, food stamps isn’t the only program with good news attached to it. Two other government-assistance programs also have something to smile about:

 

  • Women, Infants and Children: Those in this group who receive benefits for supplemental nutrition was at a several years-low of 8.1 million in February.
  • Social Security Disability Insurance: It’s now at a plateau (but analysts aren’t sure if this is temporary or not), providing relief after years of super fast growth.

 

However, there is one bit of sobering information that accompanies Social Security Disability Insurance: with the population one step away from mass retirement, there’s a chance that the plateau won’t get smaller. There are simply too many Americans on the cusp of seniorhood that an external force would have to be in play for the program’s numbers to recede.

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