The number of Tennessee families enrolled for food stamps is at an all-time high.
The food stamp program has seen dramatic but steady growth in Tennessee, nearly doubling since 2000. In the past three years, there’s been a nine-percent increase. Roughly 407-thousand households now receive federal help to pay their food bills.
Richard Hobbs is in charge of distributing food stamps in the state.
“Prior to the past few months, our highest months had occurred in ’05 when we had the influx of individuals from Louisiana, but right now we’re serving more than we served during the months following Katrina.”
Hobbs says 80-percent of those eligible for food stamps in Tennessee participate in the program. That’s above the national rate.
With the recent economic conditions, Department of Human Services officials say they are seeing families apply who’ve long been eligible but perhaps too proud to take food stamps.
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Davidson County has the second highest number of participants in the state, with 37,000 families receiving food stamps. That’s slightly higher than the same time last year but lower than the record year of 2005.
Shelby County, which includes Memphis, has the largest number of food stamp recipients. More than 81,000 families used food stamps last month.
Click here to see month-by-month break down of food stamp participation in Tennessee.