Up to 34,000 needy Rhode Islanders could get more money for food -- an average of $72 a month each -- without straining the state's beleaguered treasury. Not only would this help curb hunger, it would feed an estimated $29.4 million worth of federal funds into the state's supermarkets and grocery stores.

What's the catch?

There is none. The money would come from the federal Food Stamp program and represents funds due people who are eligible for -- but don't get -- Food Stamp benefits.

Henry Shelton, head of the antipoverty George Wiley Center, says the state needs to make a much harder push to sign people up. "We would be helping the stores to stay in business and people to get better nourishment," he says.

Karen Malcolm, director of agency services and community outreach for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, says extending Food Stamp benefits to between 30,000 and 34,000 more people is a major goal for her agency.

But in a classic example of whether the glass is half-full or half-empty, Rhode Island's Food Stamps record surpasses most others', according to Jane Hayward, director of the state Department of Human Services. About 70 percent of Rhode Islanders who are eligible get Food Stamps, compared to 50 to 55 percent nationwide.

Hayward says the state works hard to sign people up. But she agrees that thousands more can be served, and Shelton and Malcolm say there are practical ways to do this. Shelton says supermarket chains could put Food Stamp information in their weekly advertising circulars. Malcolm says one big barrier Food Stamp users face is a daunting, 28-page application form. DHS is experimenting with a streamlined, shorter version.

In addition, the state could take advantage of reforms contained in a newly enacted federal Farm Bill that would encourage more people to apply, Malcolm says. One change would be for the state to allow Food Stamp families to update applications every six months, rather than every three months, as is now the case. Another would be for the state to allow families leaving the Family Independence Program (FIP), the welfare program, to keep their current Food Stamp allotment for five months before reapplying.

Food Stamps are not welfare -- the program was created in the 1930s in part to help distressed farmers find new markets for their produce. So former welfare recipients may not realize they still can get Food Stamps after leaving FIP, if their income remains low enough to qualify.

As with most giant government programs, the details are boring. The outcome, however, is not. Already, 73,722 persons in Rhode Island receive $65.8 million from Food Stamps. Another 34,000 could get much more to eat -- $29 million worth of groceries.

And all of this can happen when a foundering state budget precludes so many other reforms. In other words, there are no excuses.

Issue Date: November 1 - 7, 2002