According to a new report by the New York Times, more than six million Americans, a little less than 2% of the entire American population, enrolled in food stamps during the first three months of the coronavirus pandemic, an unprecedented growth in the program.
The program saw a 17% growth from February to May, with republican-led states Florida and Georgia seeing the sharpest growth. The number on food stamps has now hit a new high, eclipsing the 48 million on the program in 2012, as a result of the Great Recession.
During the 2016 campaign and through the first part of his administration, Trump and other officials called to reduce funding for the program, which helps children, elderly, the disabled and the unemployed through food assistance programs. Their rationale was that getting food stamps would demotivate people from working.
Since the start of the pandemic, however, the administration has quietly loosened application and qualifications standards, meaning applications are accepted more easily. This allowed states to suspend reviews of existing cases so they could speed through the applications of newly enrolled people.
The push also came as local food banks were crushed by demand, with news programs showing long lines of cars queued up at assistance centers hoping to get groceries. Issues of food security became a priority to families and government agencies.