The Charleston Daily Mail reports that 1 in 6 West Virginians is on food stamps. Wild and Wonderful? Good golly.
And then I got to thinking, how many Virginia residents are on food stamps? Also, how many people in Charlottesville and Albemarle County receive food stamps?
I think everyone knows that West Virginia is the poorest state in the Nation, but where does little old Virginia and Charlottesville compare? The answers and details are below.
I looked up Virginia’s food stamp program data and found a report titled “2008 Annual Statistical Report” by the Virginia Department of Social Services.
In case you were wondering (from page 62).
Public assistance (PA) cases are those households where all members receive or are eligible to receive income from TANF, TANF Diversionary Assistance, General Relief, SSI, or VTP (VIEW Transitional payments). Non-public assistance (NPA) cases are those households where at least one member is not eligible to receive income from TANF, TANF Diversionary Assistance, General Relief, SSI, or VTP. Unless otherwise requested, TANF and General Relief applications are considered applications for the Food Stamp Program.
If you look on Page 7, Food Stamp Caseload and Payments, you find that there are, on average, 400,757 NPA and 110,878 PA recipients; for a grand total of 511,635 “food stamp” recipients in Virginia in 2007.
The census estimates the Virginia population at 7.6 million in 2006. A little simple math tells us that approximately 6.7% or 1 in 15 Virginians are on Food Stamps. We also spent about $550 million on food stamps in Virginia last year! It’s not West Virginia numbers, but it still sounds like a lot.
What about Charlottesville and Albemarle County?
According to a breakdown as of February for Virginia localities participating in food stamps, Albemarle County had Charlottesville 3,360 and 1,773, respectively. Population estimates for Albemarle County and Charlottesville, put the populations at 92,035 and 40,315, respectively. For a total Charlottesville + Albemarle, that means approximately 3.4% or 1 in 29 get food stamps.
Summary % of Population Receiving Food Stamps:
Virginia Food Stamp Recipients: 6.7%, 1 in 15
Charlottesville Food Stamp Recipients: 2.9%, 1 in 35
Albemarle County Food Stamp: 3.7%, 1 in 28
Charlottesville + Albemarle County: 3.4%, 1 in 29
What do you think?
Further Reading:
Hunger in America (2006)
Monthly Food Stamp Participation in Virginia
Popularity: 33% [?]
Tagged as: albemarle, benefits, Charlottesville, Food, food stamps, Government, npa, pa, social services, stamps, statistics, Virginia, welfare
1 in 29? I had no idea I was in such a minority.
I got food stamps once, but had to pay it back since I’m an alien.
I know news anchors are popular around here, so lets put this in perspective:
“Among the dozen or so let go at KCBS and its L.A. sister station KCAL were veteran anchors Harold Greene and Ann Martin, whose salaries are said to be in the millions of dollars. A station group spokesperson confirmed that the duo would be announcing their ‘retirement’ as of June 1.
“In New York, WCBS also lost about a dozen positions. WBBM’s lead female anchor, Diane Burns, also is out after the Chicago station declined to renew her contract, which reportedly paid her $2 million annually. WBZ Boston lost about 20 jobs.
“In San Francisco, 14 KPIX newsroom folks were laid off. Among the nine staffers cut in Denver were Shawn Montano, who was recently named the National Press Photographers Assn.’s photojournalism video editor of the year.
Things are tough all over kid.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-cbsnews.html
Oooo, there is a state poorer than West Virginia…Mississippi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_the_United_States_by_income
http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/28/real_estate/wealthiest_states/index.htm
Joel,
You are so right. Welcome to the party, enjoy some porridge and potatoes. The mead is in the vat around the corner.
Nothing makes me sadder than people going hungry. I think I was reincarnated from a fat Italian grandmother. “Are you getting enough to eat?”…anyhoo I read somewhere that America is the richest nation but has the highest amount of children not getting enough to eat. That’s fucked up.
@3, what the hell are you talking about? News Anchors? Unless we’re talking about Ron Burgundy than who cares what happens to those fops? Oh MY GOD! Not the news anchors! Honey, lets go by some McDonald’s and drop it off with the poor news anchors, their in the poor house these days. News Anchors? Seriously.
@6, we also have the most FAT PEOPLE in the world. So, let’s see here…………..we have the most fat people & the most starving children……..how does that work?
We should feed the fat people to the starving children. Problem solved.
The greedy adults are eating all the food and not giving the kids any?
/I got nothing
I have a hard time believing we have the most starving children when there are countries like Somalia and Sudan where almost all of their children are hungry. Is it because we have that much larger of a population?
@8: I knowwww….that’s why it’s so fucked up. Linky poo:
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/poor/statistics.asp
people do not understand where food comes from.
i was just standing on my porch while a friend was relaying theories of the need for depopulation and how “powers that be” plan to cut the pop. from 6 1/2 to 2 billion.
one reason is the decline of oil, and that there are too many people to be fed. looking over his shoulder, i see my garden getting planted… with the space/potential to be filled and meals to be had.
and it’s just a hobby. then there are the wild blackberries all my yard for breakfast. if we as a society had time and education to think about where our food came from and how to grow it and care for the plants and animals (sorry, shen-but eggs and honey are good stuff, too), we would probably be much healthier, our planet would be happier, obesity and many mental issues (depression, attention, etc) would be lessened, we would have the food, economic powers would be more balanced-I could go on. and i might in the future. just sort of spewing forth some initial thoughts on the topic.
back after lunch;)…..
I read part of a fictional series once where an electrical pulse killed the power in anything with a motor or chip. No electricity, no cars, no refrigerators, etc. People could not take care of themselves. They had no idea how to grow there own food or do anything that didn’t require some time of appliance. I do agree that our current lack of knowledge (and that we don’t care that we lack it) is a huge part of our problem. While I am sure there are people who this doesn’t apply to, if any of us were sent back a a hundred and fifty years and forced to stay we would not be able to survive.
Shen, from the about section of the site you linked to:
“powers that be” plan to cut the pop. from 6 1/2 to 2 billion.
Ala’ soylent green?
/finally understands the go green initiative
How ’bout a canned-food-drive at the next get-together, Spicy Bear? Speaking of next get-togethers, when is that exactly? I’ll even volunteer to collect all the food and bring it down to the food bank.
I’ll even volunteer to collect all the food and bring it down to the food bank.
…and by ‘the food bank’, doof means ‘my kitchen’.
@13: I eat eggs and honey.
@15: Damn, I need to fully read all the sites I google.
We should feed the fat people to the starving children. Problem solved.
Ha Ha! Funny!
I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with feeding children fat people, unless of course the fat people are free range.
Lys, polyface grows them.
Then I’m all in! Let’s add it to the school lunch menu - fricase of fatass.
@21 If they were free range I don’t think they’d be fat, unless they were factory, free-range in which case they’d be kept in a cage for the first two-thirds of their lives and then refuse to go outside because cage-life is all they ever knew… and they were afraid of the sun.
@23–I don’t think they would go for that, they are trying to cut some of the fat from school lunches
I’m for the soylent green solution, then. However it was processed, they did say it was nutritious.
/soylent green is..PEOPLE!!!!
All I can think about is the X-Files episode “Our Town” where Walter Chaco and the town’s citizens kill people and mix them into Chaco Chicken. And everyone contracts Crutzfelt-Jacob’s disease. Anyone?
/Now wondering if perhaps the X-Files had something to do with me becoming a vegetarian…
@ 27: that, and sweeney todd…
/now completely not hungry. thanks!
Fatass Fricassee
5 pounds fatass parts, skin and fat removed
liberal salt, pepper and paprika to taste
2 large onions sliced
4 large stalks celery coarse sliced
4 large carrots coarse sliced
2 bay leaves
2 large cloves garlic sliced
2 cups chicken broth
Noodles, rice pasta or puff pastry shells
fresh chopped parsley as garnish
Directions:
In a large slow cooker/crockpot lay well seasoned fatass parts. Place on the veges, bay leaf and garlic. Add the broth. Cover and cook low 8 to 12 hours or high 4 to 6 hours. When fatass is tender, remove from bone and cut up. Add the fatass and cook and stir well . Serve over pasta , rice or pastry shells.. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Note: one may add a bit of sherry into the sauce and other things such as canned drained mushroom pieces, chopped pimento, peas etc.
It’s not so much that West Virginia is that poor is the growth of welfare culture since Lyndon B. Johnson’s so-called Great Society. We now have a third or generation of people that have never needed to work in their lives. Why work when you can get tens of thousands of dollars in benefits for free. You might be surprised the amount of food one can buy with a monthly allotment of food stamps. You might also be surprised at the number of people that mismanage their food stamps. If they were any good with managing their money, they probably wouldn’t be on welfare in the first place.
Do you think these kids were going to eat their teacher? Are teachers free range? Can kids who are in public school be considered starving?(I mean for food, I’m sure they are starving for knowledge)
did you know…
educators make so little in many counties in the area that a lot of teachers that have families qualify for food stamps?
true story…attend local school board meetings if you don’t believe me
educators make so little in many counties in the area that a lot of teachers that have families qualify for food stamps?
This is almost an urban legend. What do you think a first year teacher makes in Charlottesville/Albemarle?
I have no idea, but I would guess 30k.
Actually it is almost 40K, that includes a low co pay medical insurance, dental, and a retirement account that is full funded by the city/county (the teacher don’t have to contribute any of their salary)
I’m am happy they are paid better than the average college grad. We do value educators in this area. It saddens me when people pretend that taxpayers here don’t care. It’s just not true
@33, 34 Minimum is 40K, as seen here:
http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/forms_center/departments/human_resources/forms/misc/2007-2008_Teacher_Pay_Scale.pdf
At 40K, they’ll be able to afford a house in Charlottesville in a mere fifty to sixty years. Hooray!
thank god for free tots!
so… this thread made me think of this video for SOME reason… hmmm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Uyf4Eh4kc&NR=1
@8–part of the problem is that the cheapest food tends not to be the healthiest food. And people aren’t shown how to stretch their food stamp dollars in healthy ways.
And having worked for social services (not in eligibility, but close enough to see the trends) most people who get food stamps are either currently working (or have worked in the past like retirees, disabled folks, etc.) When your job pays $7 an hour with no benefits and you have kids to feed (whose other parent is thousands of dollars behind on their child support) help from the government is where you go for things like housing, food and health insurance for the kids.
Bacon, I didn’t identify Albemarle or Charlottesville specifically, but rather neighboring counties over the mountain *cough* like Augusta *cough*. I assure you, it is not an urban legend, I work with these people on a daily basis. I am not in this boat personally, but if a teacher my age had two or three kids I can tell you that I would qualify for food stamps in a heartbeat.
@41 that is the logic of the possible not the probable. If a teacher had three kids and no supporting spouse what does have to do with the job. the case you make is rare (hence the urban legend)- the real question is are teachers valued and are they fairly compensated. I believe here they are
Their personal family situation has little to due with their salary. We can’t pay single, childless teacher less for the same job and isn’t that the make up the majority of first year teachers? Is it better to take the tax money of everyone, pay single childless people a lot more money so when the single parent of three occurs they don’t have to go on food stamps?
i had a party one night, and this ballsy kid wandered in off the street and started pouring himself beers. after a bit i asked him wtf, etc, and it turns out that he was living at the salvation army (up on 5th by the fire station). 19 years old with a pregnant girlfriend, it broke down like this:
- free room and board
- must have job
- must give 75% daily wage towards “free” room and board
- kicked out if jobless
so when you get 5.15/hr at taco bell, and work a 6 hour shift, you end up owing about $23 of your $31 to the salvation army, every day. you can hardly buy a meal with the leftover on that. salvation, indeed.
Did you let him stay and drink?
yes.
Nice.
Let me first say that parlie’s post @43 is an excellent example of how difficult it can be to escape the cycle of poverty.
@42 I have never disagreed with the idea that teachers on food stamps is the exception and not the rule. I never said “all” or “most” teachers were on food stamps, I simply thought it was an interesting fact that there are some teachers who actually qualify for food stamps.
I know this might be a bit of a threadjack, but I can’t help but get on my soapbox for a brief second and make my case for why teachers are underpaid.
1. do not be fooled by a starting salary of 40K (this by the way, is the ABSOLUTE best case scenario in the area). Look at the payscale ten years down the line. How many professionals do you know that after 10 years of experience in their field are still making well under 50K? Keep in mind that the majority of teachers in VA have their graduate degrees, and nearly 100% of recent teacher education graduates have their Masters degrees.
2. I caution everyone to not just assume that every teacher living in Cville has the opportunity to work in Albemarle or Cville Schools. Because the area is the highest paying in Central VA, job openings are incredibly competitive, especially if you are not a teacher of the Math/Science persuasion. Many of us teachers who are young and would like to still have some semblance of a social life may live in Cville but have to commute to areas outside the city (which are significantly lower paying).
3. Keep in mind that we are paid based upon a 7.5 hour workday. Anyone who has spent time as a classroom teacher knows that even an 8 hour workday is an laughable ideal. Teachers spend a LOT of time working “off the clock.” I know we aren’t the only professionals that do this but just keep it in mind.
sorry for the rant and the off-topicness guys…
I like how Odie’s post actually related to the original topic, yet it is still a threadjack. Odie, we have a place for your off-topicness.
@47 I respect the point you are trying to make.
1. Do not be fooled (I’m not even sure what this means). This is the job- this is what you signed up for . If you work in government you are never going to get rich. Most people aren’t going to get rich. If you get your graduate degree and stay in the classroom you won’t make that much more money. Master is a break even and a classroom PHD makes little sense.
2. Teacher make too little money but it’s really hard to get a job because it very competitive. This is so significantly flawed in a economic sense I don’t know where to begin. Markets 101 says you could actually pay less and still get all the teachers you want (not a suggestion just a observation)
3.Summer vacation (may I haz one, please!)
@48 this is more on topic here then there (you not the boss of me
)
@49 well stated Bacon, especially on the summer vacation thing (I have no defense for that point).
point #1: by “don’t be fooled” I am referring to the move that school districts have made over the last ten years to stop the citizens from complaining about crappy teaching salaries. To accomplish this, school districts are in the habit of bumping up the starting salaries, but not to extend that raise across the board to the more experienced teachers in the system. Now you are right Bacon, I didn’t enter into this to get rich and I am rather content with my socioeconomic fate. Just looking out for myself and others in the profession I guess.
just to clarify my point #2: jobs in albemarle and cville are significantly higher paying than surrounding counties. therefore, Economics 101 says that the highest paying jobs in the region are going to be the most sought after (amongst teachers). I was trying to make the point that if you want to teach in an area that has decent pay, it is not easy to get a job (in my content area). Teach in a more rural setting and the competition is much less so. So for people like me who shudder at the thought of living in bum f*ck nowhere, it may require actually commuting a distance to make less money out in the boonies. All, of course, so I can live in this kick ass city of ours
Maybe we can just agree to disagree Bacon?
@50 I believe we agree much more than we disagree. You have no need to defend the summer vacation- it is part of the job (and yes I still want one) I have just grown a little fatigued that in most places to even discuss this topic I would be branded as “hating teachers”. Thank you for your civility.
I LOVE using my “Cardinal Card” to buy groceries and when theres not enough to cover the bill… putting the remainder on my AMEX…
the look on the stupid (not to sound racist) white beeatch behind you in lines face… PRICELESS. oh wait is that Mastercard?