Food Stamp Use Spikes in California

If there was any doubt that rising prices and a souring economy are pummeling the region, more proof has arrived.

The number of households using food stamps is up 23 percent in San Bernardino County since April of last year and up 16 percent in Riverside County, according to data released by the California Department of Social Services. And government officials expect those numbers to grow.

"We're in the midst of an economic tsunami. You take all these issues: the cost of gas, the cost of food and the lack of affordable housing," said Dave Paradine, president/chief executive officer for Find Food Bank, Inc. "The people seeking food assistance used to be the homeless, and the unemployed. Now, in the last few years, the shift we've seen is to the working poor, particularly mothers with children."

The trend is statewide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Between February 2007 and February this year, the number of California households using food stamps jumped 21 percent.

ImageBehind these numbers are real people, like Bernard Moore of Riverside, a single father with two jobs and three kids. On a recent day this spring Moore who lost his wife to cancer in 2007 reluctantly applied for public assistance. As he shopped for food at a big box warehouse store, he explained that his income selling luxury cruises which depends largely on commission, has plummeted as Americans have cut back on spending. And his long commute to work in Orange County is decimating his paycheck.

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