How to get help

If you are having trouble meeting the basics and your income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level (approximately $44,000 per year for a family of four), you may qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. To find out more, go to myflorida.com/accessflorida or call (866) 762-2237.

Food stamp use has more than doubled in Duval County over the past five years. That grim statistic is twice the national average and is the second highest in a study of 22 cities nationwide, according to a report released Monday.

The report, issued by the Food Research and Action Center, an anti-hunger advocacy group, showed Jacksonville as second only to Las Vegas in the growth in people who depend on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is commonly called food stamps. It looked at a geographically balanced cross section of urban areas.

In Jacksonville, the food stamps caseload increased by 131 percent between May 2005 and May 2010. Figures from the Florida Department of Children and Families, which oversees the program, show that has surged even more since May. More than 162,000 people now get help from the program - or nearly one in five people in Jacksonville.

Bryan Hensley, operations manager for the department, said he thinks years of economic hardship forced more people to put away their pride.

"To some degree, the economy led some people to apply who may have never considered applying before," Hensley said. "Whatever stigma might have been attached to food stamp use might have gone away due to necessity."

The group's research shows that Jacksonville and Miami, the two Florida cities studied, have relatively good participation in the program, with an estimated 86 percent and 91 percent of the eligible population enrolled. In other cities, it was as high as 97 percent in Detroit and as low as 40 percent in San Diego.

The department has won millions in extra funds from the federal government as a reward for its performance, efforts that drew praise Monday from Florida Impact, a nonprofit that leads the Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger.

Still, the Food Research and Action Center report shows that lack of participation in Jacksonville leaves about $8.3 million each year unused, funds that could be spent in the local economy.

Hensley said the department was working to increase participation, despite a staff that has not grown to meet the increased demand. He pointed to increased outreach, especially through nonprofits such as the Early Learning Coalition and Second Harvest North Florida. Second Harvest has an employee who works to help needy people in the community sign up for benefits.

The partnership between the food bank and DCF is part of a campaign to eliminate hunger insecurity in the region by 2015, said Second Harvest North Florida spokeswoman Karen Rieley.
 
deirdre.conner@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4504

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-01-25/story/food-stamps-now...