Report: 45 Million Americans on Food Stamps

The number of people getting food stamps has topped 45 million for 55 straight months, the Washington Free Beacon reports.

Analyzing newly released figures from the Department of Agriculture on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Free Beacon notes the number of people on food stamps first went over 45 million in May 2011 — hitting a record high of nearly 48 million in December 2012.

An average monthly benefit for households was $255.64 last November; the total monthly benefits cost taxpayers $5.73 billion, the Free Beacon reports.

"When I ran the welfare programs in New York City we had a strong focus on supplementing full-time work with public assistance that could make wages go further — that was a good idea. Make work pay," Robert Doar, a former commissioner under New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and now an expert at the American Enterprise Institute, tells C-SPAN. 

"But sometimes as we promoted those programs and we made them easier to get on, they turned out to be work replacements, so an increasing number of people were coming in and saying I have no earnings, but I still want food stamp benefits."

A Department of Agriculture spokesperson tells the Free Beacon long-term trends show participation in the food stamp program are beginning to decline as the economy improves.

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