The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch found that a startling one in 10 Ohioans now use food stamps. And, the paper says, high grocery prices mean the stamps don't buy nearly as much food as they recently did:
"The economy and loss of manufacturing jobs are at the root of what's going on. But lately
(it's) the rising cost of transportation and food -- people who were barely getting by, are not
getting by," said Jack Frech, director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family
Services.
"It has pressed folks to the edge to have to rely on food stamps."
The story adds:
The increased demand coupled with rising food costs and fewer donations have forced the food
bank to reduce the five-day supply of food it had been giving out to a three-day supply.
"Milk is up 25 percent," said Mid-Ohio Food Bank president Matt Habash. "Applesauce, a big staple at food
banks, has gone from $9 to $15 a case."
In other areas of the state, pantries with their supplies depleted have been forced to
temporarily close.
