Food stamp participation jumped 12% in fiscal 2004

Almost 24 million Americans participated in the Food Stamp Program on average each month in fiscal year 2004, up 12 percent from the previous year. According to the newly released Food Assistance Landscape from USDA's Economic Research Service, this jump is the largest percentage increase since 1992. Perhaps outreach efforts are having an effect. Or perhaps the current economic expansion is not reaching low-income Americans as well as the expansion of the 1990s did.

Here are the report's expenditure numbers for all food assistance:


Source: USDA Economic Research Service.