Bradenton Herald (Florida), July 13, 2008: Applications for food stamps soar in Manatee
By DONNA WRIGHT
dwright@bradenton.com
MANATEE – With three days to go before their next food stamp allotment, Tim Moran and his wife Debra have just a half jar of peanut butter left in the cupboard. Their refrigerator is almost empty except for a package of hot dogs and a bottle of maple syrup.
“We get $162 a month,” said Moran, an out-of-work painter recovering from a heart attack. “My wife Debra is ill. I had to borrow money from a friend this week to get to the Open Door Resource Center to get a food basket.”
When Moran, 50, is feeling good he sometimes finds painting jobs to help the family get by. Yet the Morans count themselves lucky to have their home in Palmetto.
“But our food stamp money lasts only two, maybe three weeks,” he said. “We try to make it stretch, but even the cheap stuff is expensive. We can’t be picky. We have no choice.”
Moran is far from alone.
From May 2007 to May 2008, the number of households in Manatee County on food stamps jumped from 6,548 to 9,214, an increase of 41 percent, according to the Department of Children and Families, which administers the program. Among Florida’s 67 counties, Manatee and Putnam tied for seventh place for the highest percentage increase in the number of households on food stamps. Sarasota County came in fifth with a 48 percent increase.
The Bradenton Service Center at 4210 20th St. W sees up to 100 new applicants a day, says Johnyta Kelly, a greeter who helps clients fill out computerized applications forms, not only for food stamps, but cash assistance and Medicaid.
“We are seeing a huge increase in clients who this time last year had good paying jobs but this year are out of work – electricians, construction workers, plumbers and even people from the medical field,” Kelly said. “I had a Realtor come in the other day to apply because she lost her own home. Business is that bad.”
Total food-stamp benefits paid to Manatee County recipients rose more than 52 percent in the past year from $1.2 million to just less than $1.9 million over the same time period.
But those food-stamp dollars – which come loaded on electronic debit cards for eligible recipients – don’t stretch very far given the rapid rise in food prices. Egg prices are up more than 18 percent over a year ago, according to the consumer price index. Dairy prices are up 11 percent. Poultry prices have risen 4.5 percent and beef more than 5 percent.
The last food-stamp benefit increase passed by Congress came in October 2007 and averaged about $10 a month.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated in January that food prices would climb about 5 percent this year, but price increases surpassed that projection by the end of June.
So far, food-stamp funds are holding out despite the increase in applicants, said Mike Day, operations management consultant for the Manatee and Sarasota Department of Children and Families office.
“You don’t have to come to a service center to apply, you can just file online or use the computers at the public library or call our toll-free call center,” said Day. “We try to make this as user-friendly as possible.”
A short, easy-to-follow test helps applicants determine if they are eligible. The average monthly benefit is $94. A family of four can earn as much as $542 a month. A family of four whose monthly gross income is no more than 130 percent of the federal poverty level is eligible for food stamps and free school meals. Certain assets that you own are applied in calculating your eligibility.
“The program is not meant to be a full food budget,” said Day. “The food stamp program is just a supplement to help bring people up to where they should be.”
Processing applications can take up to 30 days, but hardship cases are expedited within a week, he said.
There is some relief is sight, but it’s barely enough to buy a bag of potatoes that now sells at local supermarkets for $4.99 a pound.
On June 19, Congress enacted the Farm Bill of 2008, which takes effect Oct. 1.
While the law increases funding to the food stamp program by $7.8 billion over the next 10 years and mandates changes in eligibility rules to help more people qualify, a typical working family will get an additional $4 to $5 a month in 2009, rising to $17 a month by 2017.
Other changes include:
An average of $500 a year to working households that pay high child-care costs.
Increasing the minimum benefit that one- and two-person households receive from $10 a month to approximately $14.
Adjusting the food stamp asset limits – currently $2,000 for most households and $3,000 for households with elderly or disabled members – to $3,250 for households with elderly or disabled members in 2012 and $2,250 for all other households in 2014.
Excluding all tax-preferred retirement accounts, such as IRAs, from countable resources, and all tax-preferred education accounts from assets counted to determine eligibility.
Until the actual appropriations are made by the federal government in August or September, states won’t know exactly what they will receive, said Sarrah Troncoso, spokeswoman with the Department of Children and Families.
“We are working to ensure that every person and family who is eligible receives their benefits in a timely manner because we understand the need these families are facing,” she said.
Despite empty cupboards, Tim Moran has faith life will improve.
“Sure we are still having a rough time, but we believe in God and that’s all that matters,” he said. “We won’t give up because we know God won’t give up on us.