Federal Food Stamp Program Spent Record $80.4 Billion in Fiscal Year 2012

Religion Today | Updated: Jan 07, 2013

Federal Food Stamp Program Spent Record $80.4 Billion in Fiscal Year 2012

During fiscal year 2012, the U.S. government spent a record $80.4 billion on food stamps, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a $2.7 billion increase from fiscal year 2011, CNSNews.com reports. According to the Monthly Treasury Statement that summarizes the receipts and outlays of the federal government, $80,401,000,000 went toward SNAP during FY 2012, compared to $77,637,000,000 in FY 2011. The SNAP program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which also runs other food assistance programs under the auspices of the Food and Nutrition Service Agency. In total, nearly $106 billion was spent on food assistance in 2012, with $18.3 billion that went to "Child Nutrition Programs." Total federal spending on SNAP has increased each year during President Obama's first term in office. In FY 2009, when SNAP was still known as the "Food Stamp" program, the government spent approximately $55.6 billion. By FY 2010, SNAP spending increased to nearly $70.5 billion. Between FY 2009 and FY 2012, SNAP's budget jumped by approximately $24.8 billion.



Federal Food Stamp Program Spent Record $80.4 Billion in Fiscal Year 2012