More Nevadans got food stamps last year

By Andrew Doughman, Nevada News Bureau: Nevada saw 27 percent growth in the number of residents receiving food stamps this past year.

That makes Nevada’s growth the second-highest in the nation with Idaho claiming the largest percent growth at 28 percent.

Between Nov. 2009 and Nov. 2010, 69,000 more Nevadans signed up to receive food stamps, reported the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services.
 

That means 322,950 Nevadans are using food stamps, which are now, technically, called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
 

The Pew Center on the States compiled the latest data, released this January, to compare all 50 states. The organization report‘s that 26 million people received food stamps prior to the recession, whereas 43.6 million people now get food stamps.

Idaho’s unemployment rate is 9.5 percent compared to Nevada’s 14.5 percent.