According to data released this week from Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) there has been a significant increase in the application for and use of food stamps by families in Florida.

Between February 2007 and February 2008 the number of Florida households using food stamps increased 19 percent. The increase in Palm Beach County was 26 percent and Broward County 19 percent. This increase in food stamps, provided by the state through the DCF, is an indication of the increasing challenges faced by families as gas and food prices continue to rise. Furthermore, a report in the Sun Sentinel says state officials expect the number of applications for food stamps to grow.

The 19 percent increase in the use of food stamps in Florida is the largest by a state in the country, and about three times the average national increase, according to figures released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Perry Borman, DCF administrator for Palm Beach County, in the Sun Sentinel report said the people going to community food services used to be just the homeless and the unemployed. However, in the last few years, the shift has been to the working poor.

Families who can prove financial hardships can apply for food stamps at a DCF office. If approved, and based on the economic hardship, family members, particularly children, can receive assistance averaging $150 per member. In former years, food stamp recipients received food vouchers in a variety of denomination ($5 -$50) which could be used to buy food and drinks at grocery stores.

Recipients receive a plastic card similar to a credit card which they use to make their purchases. The card is limited to the monthly monetary assistance. Once the monthly allocation is exhausted the card is not valid. However, it is replenished every month. The food assistance is provided for specific periods, normally six months, and applicants have to reapply at the end of this period to continue under the program. If there is evidence that their financial situation has improved, families are cancelled from the program, otherwise they are normally re-approved.

Once, there was a social stigma attached to using food stamps, but this is hardly so today. Observing shoppers at a Publix Store in Tamarac, National Weekly noticed several shoppers unabashedly tendering their red, white and blue DCF food assistance card. One of these shoppers was Gail Bissaud, who comes from Guadeloupe. She told the National Weekly that she was very grateful for the food stamp assistance which provides a monthly allotment of $300 for her two young children.

“I am very grateful for the assistance, but wish it was more. With the price of food, $300 can’t last the entire month.” When asked if she was ever embarrassed to use the card, she replied. “Embarrassed! Why? The alternative would be to steal. Then I would be embarrassed when I am caught.”

Under the DCF food assistance programs, food stamps can be used to purchase bread, cereals, fruits and vegetables, meats, fish poultry, fruit juices, etc. but not beer, wines, cigarettes, or household supplies like toilet paper, toothpaste, soaps, hand towels, etc., neither can it be used to purchase vitamins or medication. The food stamp card is also acceptable at restaurants to purchase meals.