Sand Mountain Reporter

Marshall County saw people signing up for federal food assistance at a faster rate than the national average last year.

Overall, the rolls for the Food Assistance Program — commonly known as food stamps — grew by 18 percent in Marshall County from December 2007 to December 2008. The county’s office of the Alabama Department of Human Resources issued benefits to 4,121 households comprising 10,760 individuals.

That equates to a payout of $1,171,795 in benefits.

Wayne Sellers, the Marshall County DHR director, said the money for food assistance — $1,171,795 in Marshall County last month — comes from the federal government and doesn’t affect a cash-strapped state budget.

“Actually, all of the benefits are all federal money,” Sellers said. “That’s an entitlement program and there’s no cap on it. The federal government will keep issuing benefits as long as people qualify.”

Food stamp rolls in Alabama grew by 65,000 people in 2008, a sign of the tough economic times and the state’s effort to get eligible families to sign up for benefits.

According to state records, nearly one out of seven people in the state are receiving food stamp assistance. The rolls for the Food Assistance Program grew nearly 12 percent, from about 559,360 in November 2007 to 624,670 a year later.

Nationally, federal officials report that food stamp rolls grew by more than 17 percent from September 2007 to last September.

Sellers noted that his department has been fortunate in that its staffing level has remained constant. Gov. Bob Riley has ordered a hiring freeze as the state copes with revenue shortfalls during the recession.

“Right now we’re blessed with a full staff, and also recently Montgomery started handling a lot of the elderly clients by telephone, so that’s helped with the workload,” Sellers said.

Sellers recalled Marshall County DHR reaching 3,800 households on food stamps during a severe recession in 1982. By the time the economy rebounded a few years later, the food stamp rolls fell to 2,400 households.

“It just kind of tracks the economy and the unemployment rate,” he said. “Most people want to work.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Serving Albertville and the Sand Mountain region

Publisher: Ben Shurett

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