Food Stamps in America

15% of the population is on food stamps. The majority of these people are not homeless or living in shelters. But people who can afford to pay for their living accommodations and other bills like heat and electricity, but that takes up all of their income so they can not afford food. Eligibility for food stamps depends on an individuals or a family's gross income. "To be eligible, a household has to earn a gross income amount that’s less than 130% of the poverty level, or a net income amount (gross income minus deductions) that’s less than 100% of the poverty level for their family size." This means that a person who's gross income is less than $1265 or a family who's gross income is less than $2584 per month are both eligible for food stamps.

 

Food Stamps in America are beneficial to many people , but they often have a bad reputation. Taxpayers often accuse people who use food stamps of being lazy and living off of the government. Well this may be true in some cases, so many people use food stamps because it is their only option. The amount of people on and cost of food stamps differs in individual states, and this difference can be observed in the chart above.