Food Stamp usage on the rise in bad economy
The Washington Post reported on a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) study stating that almost a million more people participated in the government’s food stamp program between April and July, going to 28.08 million in April and to 29.05 million in July. The figure is the highest since November 2005, when Hurricanes Rita and Katrina drove the number to 29.8 million.
The study also said that the current national numbers probably stem from economic troubles from the early summer and spring and that there is often a delay of a few months after a crisis before people sign up for the program. If that’s the case, then we can expect to see even more people signing up as the fallout of the mortgage and credit crisis hits families and businesses.
What this all suggests is that food stamp usage is not only on the rise, but likely to stay at levels above historic averages as we enter a more lasting condition of economic trouble and rising food costs. As I have said before, food retailers should be paying more attention to food stamps as a central component of their business models. As more and more low-income Americans begin signing up for food stamps there will be an increasing need for retailers to not only accept food stamps, but build promotional offers and tailored services to the food stamp eligible population.
Serving this population will be a corner stone of the People’s Grocery Community Market and we intend to not only utilize food stamps as a central business strategy, but to utilize our track record and experience of providing nutrition education to the food stamp eligible population to drive innovation in the education and training offers we will make to the community. It’s time to expand the role that we see grocery stores playing in communities to incorporate preventive health education, community engagement and supportive services to improve health and diet.
