NJ Spotlight published the following article on 8/5/2014. To read the full article, click here.
EXPLAINER: SNAP HELPS 1 IN 10 NEW JERSEY RESIDENTS PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE
| August 5, 2014SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a federal food-aid program designed to provide low-income individuals and families with a monthly stipend to ensure they can put food on their tables. The program is funded federally, but administered by the states.
Originally called the Food Stamp Program, because recipients were given stamps to use as currency at food stores, it was renamed as SNAP in 2008 after the stamps had been phased out in favor of an electronic benefits card and to emphasize the program’s focus on nutrition.
SNAP use has increased dramatically since the beginning of the Great Recession in 2008, jumping from 28.2 million people on food stamps in 2008 to 47.6 million on SNAP in 2013, according to federal figures.
In New Jersey, SNAP use has more than doubled over the last six years from 429,404 people on food stamps in 2008 to 876,323 on SNAP in April of this year.
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