Profile of The Food Stamps Program

On November 13th in a speech in Council Bluffs, Iowa, New Gingrich spoke the following words...

"So more Americans today get food stamps than before. And we now give it away as cash -- you don't get food stamps. You get a credit card, and the credit card can be used for anything. We have people who take their food stamp money and use it to go to Hawaii. They give food stamps now to millionaires.." 

These are very damaging statements about a program that is supposed to put food on the table for millions of people.  As a result, we found it important to delve deeper into his statements for a proper fact check and create a profile of its recipients, who are apparently millionaires. (Note:  The food stamp program is also referred to as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP)

Let's start with fact checking Newt's statement...

The credit card can be used for anything. We have people who take their food stamp money and use it to go to Hawaii.  FALSE

•  Households can use benefits to buy groceries or to buy seeds and plants which produce food.  In general, SNAP funds cannot be used for restaurant meals. Other types of foods and beverages cannot be paid for with SNAP funds, including beer, wine or liquor; vitamins; food that will be eaten in the store; or hot foods.
• The system can tell at the checkout line which products qualify and which ones don’t. The ones that don’t must be paid for with cash.
•  His assertion about Hawaii most likely comes from a study done of Missouri food stamp recipients.  Of the 3,884,657 dollars sent out as food stamps, 2,737 dollars were spent IN Hawaii.  We do not know how or why those people from Missouri used their card in Hawaii.  Yes, they could have taken a vacation there.  Or, they could have been flown out by someone else, they could have won a trip, they could be in the military, the might originally be from Hawaii and were forced to return for a death, wedding, graduation.  They could be a seasonal worker in Hawaii. 

You get a credit card TRUE/FALSE

• The old system of using coupons is past; recipients now receive what’s called an electronic benefits transfer card, or EBT card. This looks like a credit card, but it doesn’t allow for purchases on credit. It’s really more like a debit card, with the government periodically uploading the proper amount of cash.
• EBT cards allow for easier oversight, and they remove some of the stigma of having to pay with food stamps.

So more Americans today get food stamps than before.  TRUE

• An increase in requests for food stamps began in 2001 as unemployment and poverty rose.  

They give food stamps now to millionaires.  FALSE

• SNAP is a means tested program, with the maximum income to receive benefits being 130% of the poverty line (Approx 22,000 for a family of 4)

Who uses Food Stamps?

• Less the 4 percent are non-citizens
• 8 percent of recipients are elderly
• 17 percent are from households that include an elderly person
• 23 percent of households include someone who is disabled
• Almost 40 percent live in households with earnings
• 50 percent of recipients are children
• 77 percent are from households that include children
• 43 percent are white, 33 percent are African-American, and 19 percent are Hispanic
• 42 percent of recipients are non-elderly adults
• Evenly split between childless adults, single parents, and adults living with children and one other adult

Are people on food stamps forever?

• Half of all entrants to the program receive benefits for 8 months or less
• Single mothers, elderly, and non-citizens tend to stay on longer then working poor and childless adults without disabilities 
• 75 percent are off the program by month 16

PolitiFact: Gingrich and Food Stamps

USDA: Food Stamp Program Profile