Food Stamps

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Peninsula readers' letters:



From Daily News Group readers



Posted:   11/04/2013 06:48:50 PM PST
Updated:   about 11 hours ago



Food stamps



Dear Editor: More than 4 million Californians -- including roughly a quarter of a million people in the Bay Area -- saw cuts in their food stamp benefits starting Friday when a boost included in the 2009 stimulus package expired. The cuts mean a family of four now receives $632, or $36 less per month in federal food assistance, even as California food costs rise. That is the equivalent of losing roughly 21 individual meals per month, based on calculations used by the Department of Agriculture.



As many as one in nine California families receive food benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as CalFresh in this state, including 51,000 households in Santa Clara County, 14,000 in San Mateo County, 33,000 in Contra Costa and 62,000 in Alameda County.



There are lots of poor people -- the homeless and hungry and people who nobody's helping. They've exhausted their unemployment insurance and can't get welfare and food stamps anymore. They've even found some pretty nice families with children living in their cars.



Ted Rudow III,



Palo Alto