Food Stamp Reductions Hit New Jersey

If you use food stamps in New Jersey feeding your family is going to be a little tougher.

On Friday, the federal food stamp program suffered major cuts, as a result of a rollback to increased benefits under President Obama’s 2008 economic stimulus bill.

In New Jersey, roughly 10% of families who rely on food stamps find their benefits sliced to pre-recession levels, say experts. Under Friday’s $5 billion slash to the federal SNAP program, a family of four was expected to lose about $36 a month on average. That amount will vary according to a family’s income and other factors.

Experts report that nearly half the current recipients of food stamps are children, and another 20% are elderly or disabled. In New Jersey, that comes to roughly 559,000 people, according to Census figures.  Also according to Census numbers, 16,000 people getting food stamps in New Jersey are veterans.