Hunger Rate Spikes In Rick Perry’s Texas, Even As National Rate Holds Steady

The number of people on food stamps in Texas rose 2.8 percent between 2009 and 2010, and is now a staggering 15.6 percent of the state’s population. The increase was one of the highest in the nation.

Federal officials credit an increase in government food aid for keeping national hunger rates steady. Programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have grown to meet increased demand during the recession. However, U.S. Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon notes that Texas hasn’t done as well as other large states like Florida that were hit much harder by the downturn, in part because Texas’ food stamp eligibility determination program has been a mess, “with a backlog of nearly 60,000 unprocessed applications after ‘a very inefficient and ineffective privatization scheme.’”

Ironically, Perry has recently been highly critical of the very food stamp program that would have helped his state’s poorest residents get enough to eat. At a campaign stop last month, Perry called the size of the food stamp program a “testament to widespread misery” — instead of an essential aid that’s keeping Texan families alive.