Food Stamp Use Increased By 70% Since 2007

Nearly 45 million Americans are currently receiving food stamps and according to a new report issued on Friday by the Congressional Budget Office that number is 70% higher than it was in 2007, right before the housing bubble burst and sent millions of Americans to the unemployment line.

According to the CBO report the number of food stamp recipients is expected to continue to rise until 2014 and after that point food stamp numbers “will remain high by historical standards.”

The agency expected 34 million people to regularly be using the program by 2022 and with inflation taking into account the cost of food for those individuals will skyrocket to $73 billion annually, approximately the same price as the $72 billion we are currently spending to feed 45 million Americans.

The report notes that should food stamp spending continue as predicted it will be “among the highest of all non-health-related federal support programs for low-income households.”

Based on population growth expectancy charts if 34 million Americans are receiving food stamp benefits in 2022 that would mean 1 in 10 Americans will not be able to afford basic living necessities.

To put currently food stamp spending numbers into perspective, prior to the financial meltdown the cost of feeding the nations poor through the program sat at just $30 billion.

The report takes into consideration all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs around the country to paint a definitive picture of the true cost involved in feeding unemployed and low pay employees.

Are you surprised by the tremendous cost associated with national food stamp programs?