by MATT KENNARD
According to recently released figures, 44.1m Americans are now being fed in some part by Snap, the highest number in the 50-year history of the programme. As the US continues to reel from stubbornly high unemployment, the number of US citizens using the programme has ballooned over the past three years by almost 17m, an increase of 61 per cent.
In the rancorous battle over spending cuts, the programme, which cost $69bn in 2010, has come out unscathed. This is not simply due to growing hardship. “The reason it enjoys [political] support is that it benefits growers [and] ranchers,” says Kevin Concannon, secretary for food and nutrition at the Department of Agriculture, which administers the programme. It supports areas of the country that are more Republican than Democrat, he adds.
Financial Times for more
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