Food Stamp Enrollment Drops 2 Months In A Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- According to the latest U.S. Department of Agricultural report released on May 10, 2013, the number of U.S. participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or also referred to as Food Stamps) has declined for the last two consecutive months after hitting an all-time high of 47,791,996 for the month of December 2012 with an average per person benefit of $133.73 per month. 

47,558,101 people were on Food Stamps for the month of February 2013, down slightly from 47,772,063 in January.  The last time a straight two-month decline in food stamps occurred was during the exact same calendar months a year ago (December 2011 through February 2012.)

Despite the recent economic data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that U.S. unemployment has reached a post-recession low of below 7.5% for April 2013, over 14 million new Food Stamp participants were added since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009.  Meanwhile, the U.S. civilian labor force participation rate remains at its lowest level since 1979.