Food Stamp Advocacy Tool Available as Displaced Families Seek Assistance

In Illinois 1,176,006 were receiving food stamps in June 2005. That is up 39 percent from June 2000, according to the Food Research Action Council. These numbers do not include Hurricane Katrina’s victims, who are now eligible for temporary food assistance. Amazingly the program that is offering support to millions continues to be threatened by budget resolutions. Before Katrina, the House and Senate had agreed to a budget that threatened to make cuts in the Food Stamp Program of anywhere from $600 million to upward of $2 billion. Since Katrina, they have merely postponed this plan, not dropped it. To add insult to injury, now some in Congress are suggesting even larger food stamp reductions to help pay for other Katrina expenses.

The plan in the House would reverse the bipartisan mid-1990s decision to preserve the Food Stamp Program’s strengths. The plan would allow some states to drop federal rules and take fixed amounts of funds. If the states hardest hit or with the most evacuees from Katrina had this “block grant” rule in effect, the Food Stamp Program there would have collapsed this month rather than acted well to meet the need.

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) will process applications for displaced families even if they lack the requisite paperwork. It will accept any type of identification verification, including a statement from a local family member or social service organization or a statement from the Red Cross. Applicants need not wait for the usual 45 days for approval; IDHS will process the application upon completion.

The Shriver Center’s Community Investment Unit continues to support new rules for food stamp participation that eliminate limits on car ownership for participants in the Food Stamp Program. Because of the work of the coalition work of Shriver Center’s Community Investment Unit, retirement accounts are no longer countable assets if participants will incur a penalty for early withdrawal. The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules approved the new rules on August 16, 2005, after initial approval by the Governor’s office.

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law is also making its Food Stamp Advocacy Tool envelope available to displaced families who are temporarily residing in Illinois. IDHS will allow families who have been displaced to apply for temporary food assistance. Families are encouraged to seek out their nearest IDHS local office to apply until October 31, 2005.

For more information about food stamps for displaced families, or the Food Stamp Program in general, go to www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/ or contact the Shriver Center at 312.263.3830. When contacting the Shriver Center, be sure to ask about its Food Stamp Advocacy Tool, available in English, Spanish, and Polish.