Eat My Florida

Last year I lived for a week on just $3 a day for food, the average amount that food stamp clients receive from the USDA to fill the grocery cart. It wasn’t easy, and it couldn’t end quickly enough for my taste. The real story wasn’t my gimmicky experience, though. It’s the large numbers of people who have to eke out three squares a day on the government dole. 26 million people last year. 200,000 people on the Suncoast. And those numbers are going up.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Florida food stamp usage jumped 19% in the past year, which is over three times the national increase. Much of that comes from families who have dropped into the ranks of the working poor, with jobs that just can’t make ends meet in the current economy. When talking to food banks last December, one volunteer told me that he has people coming in for help who were donating items just a year ago.

Want to help? Donate food, cash, or time to a local food bank. Check America’s Second Harvest to find one near you.

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