Food stamp program gets infusion of stimulus funds

<p>Sonoma County grocery stores and markets will get an extra $330,000 this month as federal stimulus funds are injected into California’s food stamp program, county officials said.</p><p>On Wednesday, the state announced that food stamp payments would increase 13.6 percent for the state’s 1 million households who receive the benefit.</p><p>In Sonoma County, 9,500 households will see their monthly benefit rise by $39 to $324, on average. The increase will put more food on the table for about 19,000 people who live in households that receive food stamps.</p><p>Marla Stuart, director of planning and research for county human services, said food stamp recipients will now spend $2.77 million a month at local grocery stores and markets, up from $2.44 million a month. </p><p>“It’s a good thing for our clients,” Stuart said. “It gives them a little more money each month to buy food.”</p><p>As of February, there were 9,500 food stamp cases, or households, in the county. Each case benefits an average of two people, Stuart said.</p><p>In the last 24 months, the food stamp caseload has increased by 46 percent, “a dramatic and historic increase in such a short period,” Stuart said.</p><p>Lizelda Lopez, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Social Services, said the term “food stamps” is actually a misnomer because recipients are given an ATM-type card called an electronic benefit card, or EBT card.</p><p>Beginning Wednesday, each account will show the regular monthly amount plus an additional 13.6 percent, Lopez said.</p><p>The federal stimulus package, approved by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17, will inject $840 million into the state food stamp program over the next 18 months. It also provides the state with $22 million in administrative funding to cover costs associated with the state’s growing food stamp caseload.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com</p>