Food Stamp use up 50% in Tampa, Fla. area in 2010 from 2009, nationally up 25%

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""We had people give us a (food stamp) card, and when we helped them carry their bag out to their car, they were driving a Jag," Barbara Sansone said."..

10/16/11, "Food stamp use up 50% in Tampa Bay area," Tampa Tribune, by Kevin Wiatrowski

"If not for food stamps, a half-million Tampa Bay area residents would have gone hungry last year. Federal and state records show the U.S. Department of Agriculture spent nearly $750 million to feed residents of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties in 2010 — an increase of nearly 50 percent from 2009, according to recently released figures on federal spending.

• Nationally, food stamp spending was up about 25 percent from 2009 to 2010.

Across the country, food stamp use has skyrocketed since the economy hit the skids in 2008. At the same time, federal spending on other safety-net programs — Medicaid, cash welfare and children's health care — have grown little, if at all, according to the U.S. Census Bureau....

For people without children, food stamps often are the only government safety-net option available...

In the Tampa Bay area, Hillsborough County residents were responsible for the lion's share of food stamp spending last year — more than $306 million. Pasco received the region's lowest amount of benefits, a little more than $76 million. Statewide, food stamps provide about $270 a month per household....

The sharpest growth has been among working-age men and women.

"In the past, pride would set in and they wouldn't apply for assistance from the government," said Jevetta Stanford, who spent five years training food-stamp users in proper nutrition for the state Cooperative Extension Service. "Now it's almost a matter of life or death," Stanford said. "You apply for assistance or you go hungry."

In recent years, federal officials have tried to reduce the stigma associated with food stamps. They renamed the program SNAP, short for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. They also dropped the multicolored paper coupons in favor of a plastic debit card that can be swiped through the card readers found at most businesses.

In April 2010, Barbara Sansone's family added the food stamp card as a payment option at their South Tampa produce stand, Tampa Bay Farmers Market. They did so because customers were asking if the market accepted food stamps, Sansone said. "We feel it's good customer service," said Barbara's son, Anthony Sansone.

The market, at MacDill and Swann avenues, is one of 11 businesses in the neighborhood — the 33609 ZIP code — that accept food stamps. In 2005, just two businesses in that ZIP code did.

The Sansones say food-stamp users aren't a big part of their business, but those who use them come in all shapes and sizes. Many come from the nearby Jewish Center Towers, a retirement community within sight of the market.

And then there are the others.

"We had people give us a (food stamp) card, and when we helped them carry their bag out to their car, they were driving a Jag," Barbara Sansone said.

That kind of story isn't uncommon, especially as the economy drags down families who once were solidly middle class, Stanford said. Food stamp rules look at people's income, not the types of cars they drive, she said. "You can never really use that as a yardstick," she said.

As food stamp use has grown, so have the number of businesses looking for a piece of the action. Regionally, more than 2,700 businesses honor food stamps —up 65 percent from 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

CVS and Walgreens pharmacies have joined the food-stamp bandwagon. So have convenience stores. Fast-food restaurants are lobbying Congress to be included also, despite a long-standing ban on using food stamps to buy prepared food."...

via Sharon Calvert, Tampa Tea Party