Photo By: Polycart

Newt Gingrich said this during last night’s South Carolina debate: 

“More people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history.”

The data:

Source of Information: http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/15SNAPpartPP.htm

From  2007 to 2011 there was a 58.8 percent increase in the average of monthly participants (persons) in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Here is a state-by-state breakdown of average monthly participation (persons).

For example, in my home state of New Jersey in 2007 – 414,503 persons were enrolled in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and in 2011 759,136 were enrolled. That’s a 56.4 percent increase over 4 years.

One of the reasons, according to Politifact.com, is the recession.

Politifact states:

“Much of the reason for the increase was a combination of the economic problems Obama inherited combined with a longstanding upward trend from policy changes. But Obama has supported those policies.”1

What do you think?

  1. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jan/17/newt-gingrich/newt-gingrich-says-more-people-have-been-put-food-/ [↩]