Demand for state's food-stamp program increases

KENNEWICK — Demand for the state's food-stamp program is rising, through a combination of new eligibility rules and a tough economy that is squeezing lower-income families, officials said.

The state Department of Social and Health Services processed 48,114 applications in October, compared with 36,302 in September and 32,807 in August, said John Wiley, department spokesman for Eastern Washington.

The department changed eligibility rules for the Basic Food program, commonly known as food stamps, on Oct. 1 to allow families with incomes at or below 200 percent of poverty level to apply.

Until then, families at or below 130 percent of the poverty level could apply. For a family of four, that meant an income of $26,900 or less. The new threshold for a family of four is $42,400.

"While the job market in Washington has remained steadier than other areas of the country, some people here are losing their jobs," Troy Hutson, assistant secretary for the department's Economic Services Administration, said in a statement when the new rules were announced.

"When you add increasing food and gas costs, more and more people are going to need help making ends meet," Hutson said.

"The food-stamp program is the nation's first defense against hunger."

From March 2007 to March 2008, participation in the Basic Food program rose 4 percent statewide.

And while food-stamp applications usually slow in June, July and August, there was no such drop-off in 2008, Olivas said.

Kathy Spears, a department spokeswoman in Olympia, said more than 617,000 people got food stamps in Washington in October, up from 594,000 in September. And that's compared with 542,598 in October 2007.

"We believe some of that uptick is due to the new eligibility limits," Spears said. "We have really been trying to market the program so people get the necessary information and apply for and get the benefit."

Wiley said that despite a projected $5.1 billion state budget deficit, funding for the food-stamp program shouldn't be in jeopardy because the money for the program comes from the federal government, with Washington picking up the tab for about half the administrative costs.

"We are looking to get as many eligible people as possible signed up because the program is like an economic stimulus of federal money flowing into the state," Wiley said.