Working poor now majority of food stamp recipients — with college educated among fastest growing group of users

By George Chidi
Sunday, January 26, 2014 20:20 EST

In the wake of recent cuts to the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program — or food stamps — the Associated Press reported Sunday that working-age people have now passed children and the elderly as the majority of recipients for households relying on food stamps.

The program now covers one in seven Americans, with the fastest growth in use among workers with some college training, the AP reported.

Stories about the rising use of food stamps by seemingly-undeserving recipients — prompting the conservative backlash — began near the start of the recession with tales of Brooklyn hipsters using food stamps for organic salmon. But with increasing regularity we’re reading stories of adjunct college professors and government employees relying on SNAP to feed themselves and their children, evidence that SNAP is the virtual breadline of the Great Recession.