Overall participation in America’s food stamp program fell to 37 million for the first time since October 2009, according to the latest statistics released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The most recent USDA data revealed that 37,911,631 people received food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in December 2018, marking the lowest level of overall participation in the nation’s food stamp program in nearly ten years.
The last time overall participation in food stamps reached this level was in October 2009, when 37,672,818 people were on the government dole, according to USDA data.
Overall food stamp participation had consistently declined since 2013, when the Obama administration was in power and enrollment in the program reached its highest levels in American history.
After 2013, SNAP enrollment plummeted once state legislatures passed laws requiring food stamp recipients to work, attend school, volunteer, or participate in job training for a set number of hours per week to receive benefits.
Food stamp enrollment dropped even further under President Trump’s administration partly because of the administration’s efforts to reform welfare programs like SNAP at federal and state levels of government and an improving economy spurred by Trump’s tax reform package.
According to the latest USDA data, 4.2 million Americans have dropped off of the food stamp rolls during Trump’s presidency.
President Trump also signaled that he is looking to limit dependency on welfare programs like food stamps even further.
The president recently told Breitbart News in an Oval Office interview that he does not want any immigrants coming into the U.S. to be dependent on welfare programs.
“I don’t want to have anyone coming in that’s on welfare,” Trump told Breitbart News last Monday.
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