This story on today’s food assistance recipients echoes what we are seeing at our agency. They are increasingly someone you know.
http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=cincinnati&sParam=31959665.story
About a third of the food stamp recipients we see now have not been to our office before or have not been there in at least five years. These are people who have had jobs that have enabled them to make ends meet, but today’s economy has put them in a situation where they need help with food.
Some have lost their jobs. Others have jobs that just don’t pay as much as before. It is important to note that most of the people who receive food assistance work. They just do not earn enough to pay for
everything and have to make tough choices — do I put gas in the car or buy groceries this week?
One in seven people in this county now receives food stamps. That is more than 110,000 people. I know there is a stereotype out there about the people who receive help from Hamilton County’s Department of Job and Family Services, but that statistic should tell you the stereotype is wrong. We are helping your neighbors, co-worker and some of the families at your children’s school.
