March 09, 2009
State could receive $34M for 3SquaresVT
Bennington Banner
Keith Whitcomb, JR.
BENNINGTON — While the many of the effects of the recently passed federal stimulus bill may take years to see, the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger said Tuesday the economic reaction to the parts that affect food stamps will be immediate.
Outreach and education is the goal of the Federal Food Stamp program, as is it a federal expense.
Angela Smith-Dieng, an outreach and policy specialist with the campaign said Vermont is estimated to receive $34 million over the course of four years to fund its Food Stamp program, now called 3SquaresVT. Smith-Dieng said the program has always acted as a kind of economic stimulus, although most people don't see it that way.
She said each dollar spent for food stamps generates $1.84 in economic activity. Using USDA calculations, she said over four years, the $34 million in added federal stimulus will create a $64 million ripple.
She said an estimated $600,000 would go towards the state's administration costs for implementing the program.
It's expected, Smith-Dieng said, that the administrative money will either be completely spent over the course of the four years, or returned.
Smith-Dieng said the stimulus money would taper off over the fours years, and because the money if given based on how many people are in the program, it could increase or even decrease. With changes in eligibility and the amount families can get, a decrease isn't likely, she said.
The hope, she said, is that by the end of the four years the other measures in the stimulus will have kicked in and not as many people will need the benefits.
As of April 1, 2009, the maximum 3SquaresVT benefit will increase 13.6 percent. The increase would up the maximum amount for a family of four from $588 per month to $688 per month.
As of Jan. 1, 2009, the Food Stamp program lowered some of its restrictions on who was eligible, making it so up to 30,000 more Vermonters qualified.
It removed restrictions on the amount of resources a person could have with a gross income under 185 percent of the federal poverty level, and stopped counting retirement funds with special tax status, such as IRAs and 401ks, as resources for people 60 and over.
Smith-Dieng said in 2008, Vermont received $60 million from the federal Food Stamp program.
With the stimulus money and the projected amount of people signing up for the program, she said 2009 might net Vermont a total of $84 million for food stamps. Nationwide, she said the stimulus will give $19.9 billion to the program.
According to the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, the total number of people receiving 3SquaresVT benefits in Bennington County for December 2008 was 4,675. The county received a total of $515,355 for those people, 1,805 of which were children under 18.
Bennington itself had 3,156 recipients, with Pownal having 432, Manchester 297, Arlington 265, and Shaftsbury 140. Other towns ranged between 14 and 111 recipients.
More information on 3SquaresVT can be found at www.vermontfoodhelp.com.
Contact Keith Whitcomb at kwhitcomb@benningtonbanner.com
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