MIAMI — Unemployed and strapped for cash, Floridians
are asking for state assistance to feed their families
in record numbers.
In the last two years, the number of Floridians on food
stamps has increased more than 40 percent to 1.7 million.
That increase is the highest in the nation, according
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And it's the second-largest
jump in the state's history, surpassed only during the
aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, said an analyst at the
Center of Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based
think tank.
Almost one in 10 Floridians is now on food stamps, and
state managers say many more qualify.
Evidence of the unprecedented rise was on display at
the Florida Department of Children & Families office
in Miami recently, where the line of people waiting for
help snaked out the door and around the corner.
One of them was Hardy Prado, who held his 22-month-old
daughter in his arms while he waited to check on the status
of his application.
As a handyman, his work is irregular and his paycheck
isn't enough to pay the bills. And Prado said it has been
almost impossible for his partner, Ana Camacho, to find
work since she left her job at a Doral flower shop on
maternity leave in February 2007.
With every increase of the unemployment rate, drop in
the housing market and tightening of credit, food stamp
lines have lengthened, said Stacy Dean, a director at
the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
