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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2009 > November > 10 > Entry
More than 1 in 10 Butler County residents on food stamps
From today’s paper:
More than one of every 10 people in Butler County have turned to food stamps to weather the recession this year, according to the county’s Department of Job and Family Services.
On average, 38,309 people have been on food stamps at any given point this year. That comes out to 10.8 percent of the county’s population of roughly 353,000.
In September, 41,710 people received food stamps, costing the federal program roughly $5.5 million. September 2008’s average was 29,958.
This puts the county on track to far surpass the $40 million in food stamps given out last year, possibly approaching $60 million, according agency Deputy Director Jerome Kearns. The county administers the federal program.
And it’s not just the number of people seeking public assistance Kearns finds “incredible.”
“We’re seeing clients today that we haven’t seen before,” he said. “Clientele that just have not had to access public-assistance services in the past because they were gainfully employed.
“They’re finding themselves in situations where they haven’t been before.”
Butler County isn’t alone. Hamilton County has 115,392 people on food stamps, or more than 13 percent of its population. Warren County saw its needy grow from 3,871 a month on average in 2007 to 7,790 in August.
And all these agencies are struggling with crippling state budget cuts. Butler County has cut its office hours and employees wages, and reduced its staff 20 percent since 2008 — eliminating 36 positions through attrition and layoffs.
“We just don’t have time to walk people through things like we used to,” said Doris Biship, Warren County Director of Job and Family Services. “We don’t hold their hands, you either give us what we need or we don’t approve cases.”
Kearns said the reason for the increased usage of food stamps — mirrored in nearly all social services — is clear: layoffs and recession.
“I’m hoping as the economy improves and we get more people jobs, and more people start to go to work — that these numbers decline,” he said.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Economy
Comments
By Alan
November 12, 2009 2:15 PM | Link to this
More than 7 in 10 Butler County residents on food stamps are obese
By fucalan
November 12, 2009 9:18 PM | Link to this
come on now alan is that any way to talk about your mother?