Food typically plays a prominent role in year-end holiday festivities, so it seems like a particularly appropriate time to look at the growing crisis of hunger and food insecurity here in Florida.
The statistics are grim. Florida ranks fourth among the 50 states and D.C. for the rate at which families were unable to afford enough food in 2010, according to the Food Research and Action Center. Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called food stamps) increased 111% in Florida between 2007 and 2010 – the third-highest increase of all states – according to a recent analysis by the Urban Institute. A record 3.1 million Floridians – one in six residents – received food-stamp aid in September, according to new figures released by the Agriculture Department, a number that has nearly tripled since the Great Recession.