Food Stamps for 1 in 10 Americans

ARLINGTON – A record number of 28 million Americans, nearly one in ten, will rely on food stamps in the near future.

A nationally operated food bank reports that the number of recipients has risen by 30 percent since the beginning of the credit crisis.

In New York City alone, there are already 1.1 million people, or one-in-seven residents, dependent on food stamps, whether or not in combination with other forms of social assistance.

The lower strata of American society thus pay a heavy price for the economic crisis.

The victims are especially people with low-paying jobs, such as store workers, cleaning people, kitchen employees and construction workers. These “working poor” are under fire from all sides.

They often depend on their car to get to work, but because of the high price of gas, there is little left from the already measly wages.

A U.S. Congressional report concluded recently that the lowest 20 percent of wage earners in America in the meantime lose one-tenth of their income to [high] gas prices.

The chance of finding a better job is small for these groups. Last quarter alone the number of jobs in the United States declined by more than 230,000.

The cost of food has never risen as fast as in the past 17 years. In view of the fact that the poor have to spend a relatively large proportion of their income on food, these groups are hit especially hard by the rising prices.