Economic Stimulus from Food Assistance
With an average monthly food assistance of $226 per household, [i] food assistance puts real money back in the hands of low-income people. The program also helps families become financially stable and make the transition to self-sufficiency, getting them through the tough times. Half of all new participants will leave the program within nine months. [ii] Because the benefit is spent in local grocery and convenience stores, food assistance also has a positive effect on local economies as the benefits are redeemed at local stores. These benefits ripple throughout the economies of the community, state, and nation. For example:
· Every $5 in new food stamp benefits generates $9.20 in total community spending. [iii]
· Every additional dollar’s worth of food stamp benefits generates 17 to 47 cents of new spending on food. [iv]
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On average, $1 billion of retail food demand by food stamp recipients generates 3,300 farm jobs. [v]
[i] USDA, “SNAP Program Summary”. Data as of November 2008.
[ii] Phillip Geason, Peter Schochet, and Robert Moffit, “The Dynamics of Food Stamp Program Participation in the Early 1990s.” (Alexandria, VA: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, 1998).
[iii] Kenneth Hanson and Elise Golan, “Effects of Changes in Food Stamp Expenditures Across the U.S. Economy” (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2002).
[iv] U.S Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. “Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs and the General Economy: Links to the General Economy and Agriculture” (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2002).
[v] U.S Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. “ Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs and the General Economy: Links to the General Economy and Agriculture” ( Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2002).