After the previous post, I called the Florida Department of Children and Families to find out how Food Stamp usage has changed over the past year for our neck of the woods. Turns out that the Suncoast is leading the way on the drastic rise of families on Food Stamps. (The data indicates number of families, not number of individuals.)
|
County |
Apr 2007 |
Apr 2008 |
Pct Change |
|
|
Lee |
10,768 |
17,147 |
59% |
|
|
Charlotte |
2,566 |
4,065 |
58% |
|
|
Hendry |
1,782 |
2,249 |
26% |
|
|
Collier |
4,416 |
5,824 |
32% |
|
|
Glades |
215 |
275 |
28% |
|
|
Hendry |
1,782 |
2,249 |
26% |
|
|
DeSoto |
1,248 |
1,581 |
27% |
|
|
Manatee |
6,356 |
8,755 |
38% |
|
|
Sarasota |
6,011 |
8,793 |
46% |
|
|
Pasco |
13,377 |
17,282 |
29% |
|
|
|
Pinellas |
30,066 |
35,298 |
17% |
|
|
Hillsborough |
41,716 |
52,685 |
26% |
|
|
SunCoast |
120,303 |
156,203 |
23% |
Pinellas managed to fall below the 19% state average (odd to congratulate a county for only having 17% more hungry families), but Hillsborough is way past it. And Sarasota, uh, all I can say is ... wow. Things are looking grim on the Suncoast. Check out the previous post for ideas on how to help out.
