2011 saw modest signs of economic recovery in the Northwest. Washington, Oregon and Idaho all had slight dips in unemployment rates. But another economic indicator reveals it’s been a hard year for many families in all three states. That is, the number of people on food stamps.
Let's go back to January. “True Grit” was leading at the box office, the fledgling Arab Spring had not yet taken off, and in the Northwest, about 2 million people were on food stamps.
Now, more than 2.1 million people across Washington, Oregon and Idaho are enrolled on the federal food subsidy program. At least, that’s what the latest numbers show for November. It’s about $274 million in monthly assistance across the region.
Tom Shanahan is with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, which administers his state's food stamp program.
“It reacts very quickly to changes in the economy. It's kind of a barometer," he says. "And we've always looked at it for our other assistance programs – as far as something happens in food stamps, we're going to see changes here there down the road.”
Shanahan says true, the number of people applying for food stamps continued to climb each month in 2011. But the rate of increase slowed.
Washington reports the same slowing. However Oregon’s food stamp demand continued to rise at a steady clip.
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Food stamps, by the numbers:
IDAHO
January 2011
Households: 95,233
Individuals: 227,848
Total value: $29,793,267
***
November 2011 (most current data)
Households: 102,176
Individuals: 235,573
Total value: $30,618,610
Source: Idaho Dept. of Health and Welfare
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OREGON
January 2011
Households: 404,408
Individuals: 755,906
Total value: $97 million
***
November 2011 (most current data)
Households: 431,064
Individuals: 793,364
Total value: $102 million
Source: Oregon Dept. of Human Services
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WASHINGTON
January 2011
Households: 542,964
Individuals: 1,051,106
Total value: $133,187,127
***
November 2011 (most current data)
Households: 576,681
Individuals: 1,097,742
Total value: $141,551,645
Source: Washington State Dept. of Social and Health Services
Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network
Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network
