Free Republic

More than 2.2 million people have discontinued their participation in food stamps during President Trump’s first full year in office, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data on food stamp enrollment. The latest USDA data shows that since Trump’s first full month in office in February 2017—when food stamp enrollment was at 42,289,366— participation in the program decreased by 2,257,235 to 40,032,131. The continued decline in enrollment during Trump’s first full year is on pace with the steady decline in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation since 2013. Before then, participation in the federal welfare program swelled...

In his big budget proposal Monday, President Trump offered a novel idea: Instead of giving needy people stamps they can redeem for food, why not just give them actual food? As you might guess, liberals were enraged by the notion. How dare Mr. Trump try to take food stamps away from hungry people and give them — of all things — food? Here’s how the liberal HuffPost saw it: “Facing a trillion-dollar deficit because of his just-passed tax cuts, President Donald Trump has an idea for how to get some of that money back: making poor people eat beans and...

The number of individuals receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, declined by more than two million in fiscal year 2017, according to data released by the Department of Agriculture. In fiscal year 2016, the number of individuals receiving benefits from the food stamp program totaled 44,219,363. In 2017, that number dropped to 42,182,443—a decline of 2,036,920. Food stamp participation has declined roughly 9 percent over the last four years. In fiscal year 2014, there were 46,663,872 individuals on food stamps. Historical data show that while the program has expanded greatly over time,...