Record Number of Americans Now On Food Stamps: 46.6 Million

(Newsroom America) -- The number of Americans on food stamps has hit a new record high, surpassing 46.6 million people, a statistic that is certain to have an impact on the presidential race heading into the final three weeks of the campaign cycle.

According to the Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, some 46,681,833 million are now enrolled. Ten years ago that figure was around 19.1 million.

In January 2009, when President Obama took office and a time when the so-called Great Recession was just ending, the enrollment figure was 31.98 million. It has grown dramatically since, as unemployment has remained high - above 8 percent until last month.

Republicans have picked up on the figures as a campaign issue, criticizing the department for its so-called "outreach" efforts that have contributed to the explosion of recipients.

"USDA has engaged in an aggressive outreach and promotional campaign to boost food stamp enrollment," said the GOP side of the Senate Budget Committee. "Among these efforts are an ongoing partnership with the Mexican government to advertise food stamps to Mexican nationals, migrant workers, and non-citizen immigrants. Partly as a result of these efforts, the number of non-citizens on food stamps has quadrupled since 2001."

That has led to an explosion in costs as well, the GOP side explained.

"Total spending on food stamps is projected to reach nearly $800 billion over the next 10 years, with no fewer than 1 in 9 people on the program at any given time. Neither food stamp participation nor spending on the program are ever projected to return to pre-recession levels at any point in the next 10 years," they said.

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