Feeding 44million: One in seven Americans now get by on food stamps

By BRIAN CLARK HOWARD
Updated: 16:02 EST, 4 May 2011

Curtiss Martin of Raleigh, North Carolina has been on and off food stamps since January 2009, and 44,200,000 fellow citizens are on similar assistance.

The latest figures from the U.S. government show that roughly one in seven Americans are now on food stamps.

Mr Martin, 29, told MailOnline.com: 'I was doing ideological work but it wasn’t paying me back financially, so food stamps saved the day by taking care of my basic needs.

'Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get by'.

Benefits: 44.2 million Americans, 14.6 per cent of the population, are now on food stamps, though the growth rate has slowed. New York pays the highest percentage of benefits

Data for February, the most recent month available, show that 14.3 per cent of the population - 44.2 million people - received food stamps.

The number of Americans receiving the benefits had risen over the recession, although it has levelled off over the past few months, and remained stable through February, according to the data.

Still, enrollment in food stamps remains relatively high, and 11.6 per cent more people claimed them versus February of last year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that Mississippi and Oregon had the highest number of residents using food stamps, roughly one in five, while Wyoming reported the lowest number, 6.6 per cent.

In April, it was revealed that Americans are relying on federal government spending more than at any time in U.S. history, as 18.3 per cent of personal income is now provided by food stamps, social security payments and other benefits.

Earned wages accounted for the lowest percentage of income since records began, at 50.5 per cent.

Hungry states: Darker colors indicate a higher percentage of residents receiving food stamps

New York, West Virginia and Rhode Island were found to provide the most generous aid packages.

Young and on food stamps: 'Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get by' said Curtiss Martin of Raleigh, North Carolina

Mr Martin said the fact that he is on food stamps is controversial among his friends and family.

He said: 'People have this image of people on food stamps as being people on welfare.

'There is a passive racism that goes with it: people say, "you’re white and middle class, so why are you on food stamps using benefits that aren’t rightfully yours?"

'Still, it's come a long way in the last few years with problems in the economy and a lot of people seeking help', Mr Martin said.

He added that he had been working for a few years in New York City, and since he saw that about a quarter of his income had gone to taxes, he felt 'entitled' to receive some benefits.

Mr Martin told MailOnline.com that he first got the idea to ask for food stamps after he found out a friend of his, who was working as a public health advocate to the Latino community in California, had had good experiences with them.

Mr Martin said: 'She was making so little that she qualified for food stamps. She told me that she tells people to get on them all the time.

'When I saw someone who had a similar situation and background to me that made it ok for me'.

At the time, Mr Martin was doing work for a nonprofit in Greensboro that he loved, but that wasn't paying him.

Food shopping: More Americans than ever rely on government benefits, including food stamps

He also used food stamps while working as an intern for a biofuels company, and currently relies on them while he works part time for a tech startup. 

Mr Martin went off food stamps when he worked for a restaurant for a time, and now hopes he will soon stop needing them by securing a full-time job, with benefits.

He added: 'People are afraid of getting food stamps, and often feel guilty and afraid that they are doing something wrong, or that they are going to get caught and have to pay a bunch of money, go to court or hurt their credit.

'As far as I can tell, all of those things are false'.

Mr Martin said he redeems his food stamps at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and local co-ops.

He said: 'Banks got big bailouts, and the government is giving me my little bailout. At the same time, I’m giving a small bailout to retailers that are hurting'. 

Still, Mr Martin said, 'I don't want to be on food stamps'.