Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
The client increases that are already being seen are causing significant strain on the <br /> staffing and financial resources of the Orange County Department of Social Services. If <br /> the middle class in Orange County becomes widely impacted, the numbers of clients <br /> could skyrocket. <br /> Public Assistance Increases <br /> The Federal Food and Nutrition Program serves families at or below 125% of poverty. <br /> The program provides a debit card loaded with a monthly allotment of funds that can be <br /> used by an individual or family to purchase a variety of foods at local stores. The <br /> allotment depends on income and family size. The number of program recipients serves <br /> as an indicator for the overall welfare of the economy, especially the working poor. <br /> What happened in Orange County is indicative of what has happened across the state in <br /> the last ten years. The number of families receiving eligibility services such as Medicaid <br /> and Food and Nutrition Benefits began a dramatic increase between 2000 and 2001, <br /> during a brief recession. In 2006-07 the number of FNP cases actually declined slightly <br /> as low-income earners began to fully recover. By July of 2007 the numbers began <br /> moving upward again and by June of 2008 the number of FNP cases had hit a new high. <br /> Every month since then has resulted in yet another high in the number of FNP cases in <br /> Orange County. <br /> The chart below shows the number of Food and Nutrition Program recipients in Orange <br /> County from 2000 to 2008. <br /> Average Number of Food Stamp Cases per Fiscal Year from 2000-2008 <br /> 3500- 3276 <br /> 2987 2928 3057 l <br /> ri <br /> 3000-' 2763 ,"" <br /> 250D-� 2335 >� ?`- <br /> I e <br /> s r i <br /> e 1987 i+ a' <br /> " / i <br /> 6 2000-'' 1735 '! <br /> 0 _Li]a 1500 <br /> znii <br /> II <br /> ;`.— <br /> 1000 { ,. <br /> c <br /> j . <br /> 500- . 5 W <br /> 0 <br /> Yom 4.:. g , o ,J oti al' <br /> Fiscal Year <br />