Holiday Gift to the Hungry: Another dip in Food Stamps participation, and (not coincidentally) City timeliness rates

NYCCAH today released the latest analysis of City food stamp participation numbers. Participation dropped in October 2006 by 5,039 people, and is now at the lowest level since October 2005. In addition, year-to-date data as of September 2006 indicates that the citywide food stamps timeliness rate at job centers has gotten even worse, with the City now missing the federal 30 day deadline in 19.1% – nearly one in five – of all cases.

Said Joel Berg, executive director of NYCCAH, “Mayor Bloomberg often speaks about the importance of having solid data upon which to base decisions. Now that there is clear proof that Food Stamps Program participation is dipping in the City even as it is increasing Statewide and even as hunger is soaring, I hope the Mayor accepts the reality that the City is at fault for placing too many barriers in the way of program access. I hope he directs his new Food Policy Task Force and his new Food Policy Coordinator to make it a top priority to fix this broken program.”