The Food Stamp Stimulus Package

The USDA announced a new program today to make it easier for recipients of food benefits to find stores that accept food stamps. They also released stats on how food stamps not only reduce hunger and increase food security, but also build local economies:

SNAP benefits, which are now provided to recipients electronically, help low income families put healthy food on the table and provide an economic stimulus that strengthens communities. Research shows that every $5 in new SNAP benefits generates as much as $9.20 in economic activity. While SNAP benefits are administered by states, they are 100 percent federally funded and move quickly into local economies, with 97 percent of SNAP benefits redeemed within a month.

—Snacktime