Over 6 Million Americans Have Dropped Off Food Stamps Since Trump Took Office

Over 6 Million Americans Have Dropped Off Food Stamps Since Trump Took Office
A grocery store advertises that they accept food stamps in the South Bronx in New York City on Sept. 19, 2013. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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Roughly 6.2 million people have dropped off food stamps since President Donald Trump’s first month in office.

Data from the USDA shows 6,268,285 individuals have left the food stamp program since Trump took office in early Feb. 2017.

During the Trump administration’s first month, more than 42 million people were participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As of June 2019, less than 37 million people were participating in the program.

Similarly, almost 20 million households were participating in the program in February of 2017—a number which slimmed down to 18.2 million by June 2019 revealing that 2.5 million households dropped out of the food stamps program since Trump took office.

Under the Obama administration as part of a 2009 stimulus package, states were allowed to waive work requirements for food stamps and the number of childless adults on food stamps doubled.

The number of able-bodied adults on food stamps doubled from 1.9 million in 2008 to 3.9 million in 2010 when Obama signed his stimulus bill and suspended a rule under the 1996 Welfare Reform Law that regulated how long able-bodied adults without dependents could collect food stamps.

“This report once again confirms that President Obama has severely gutted the welfare work requirements that Americans have overwhelmingly supported since President Clinton signed them into law,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said in a Sept. 2012 statement.

By Mary Margaret Olohan

Follow Mary on Twitter

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