Use of food stamps up

I hope you all had a chance to read the article in Sunday's New York Times about the recent increase in the use of food stamps and the corresponding decrease in its stigma. If there's a silver lining associated with the increased demand for what's officially termed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, it's that more people now realize that not everyone who needs food stamps is a lazy bum trying to avoid employment.

A map displaying food stamp usage rates by county nationwide accompanies the article. Rates are displayed for all residents, children, whites, and blacks. Each county's change in food stamp use since 2007 is also provided.

The highest rates are found in Indian Country, the Rio Grande Valley, the Ozarks, Appalachian Kentucky, and the Mississippi Delta.

New poverty data

The Census Bureau's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program released its 2008 poverty figures last week. Nationwide, the rate of poverty increased from 13.0 percent in 2007 to 13.2 percent in 2008. The rate in South Dakota, on the other hand, dropped slightly from 13.2 percent to 12.7 percent.

Ziebach County, part of the Cheyenne River Reservation, is still the most impoverished county in the entire country with a rate of 54.4 percent. South Dakota has three counties among the top 10, with an additional four in the top 50:

• Ziebach County, 54.4 percent, #1
• Shannon County, 46.0 percent, #4
• Todd County, 40.1 percent, #7
• Buffalo County, 37.7 percent, #14
• Corson County, 34.9 percent, #27
• Mellette County, 34.3 percent, #35
• Bennett County, 33.8 percent, #38

The first five counties on this list are part of reservations; Mellette and Bennett counties formerly were a part of the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations, respectively. Both still have sizable Native American populations within their respective borders.

The Census Bureau published a thematic map displaying rates of poverty by county. It's interesting to not only look at the distribution of poverty throughout South Dakota, but also its concentration (or lack thereof) in particular areas of the nation.