Working US families turning to government free food stamps

As the US tries to come to grips with the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, more working people are now availing of the US Food Stamp Program - a scheme designed to cover grocery costs of those with low or no incomes.

The US Food Stamp Program created a new record in the country in June 2009 as 35 million Americans availed the government free food stamps, up 22 per cent from June 2008, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that oversees the Food Stamp Program, revealed yesterday.

The number receiving food stamps rose more than 700,000 compared with May.

But according to analysts, the most disturbing factor of the USDA report was that nearly 40 per cent of the 'earned income' families are now availing food stamps compared to 25 per cent in 2007.

According to the USDA, the increase in the number of 'earned income' families taking advantage of the Food Stamp Program, is due to the reduced working hours, which is now about 33 hours a week, the lowest on record, and insufficient to support families.

In addition, the number of people working part-time has also increased as they cannot find full time jobs. The number of Americans working part time has risen more than 50 per cent since the past year to a record 8.8 million.