Profile America: about Food Stamps since 1959

Washington / DC. (gov) In September 1959, Congress acted to help some Americans achieve minimum levels of nutrition, passing a bill which created food stamps for those with low incomes. In 2008, the Food Stamp Program was renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Today, there are nearly 46 million Americans in 13.5 percent of all households enrolled in the program, nearly double the number from 2004. The average value of the benefit they receive each month is almost 127 USD, and the total cost of the federal program is just under 70 billion USD a year. The states with the participation rates at over 19 percent are Oregon and Mississippi. States with the lowest are Wyoming, North Dakota, New Hampshire and Colorado – according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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