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Mother said Josh Powell threatened her
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The stigma of food stamps is fading amid record use of the U.S. nutrition program, which now feeds more than 36 million people, officials said.
"I think the response of the program has been tremendous," said Kevin Concannon, an under secretary of agriculture, "but we're mindful that there are another 15, 16 million who could benefit."
The federal program now feeds one in eight adults and one in four children, with more than 36 million people using inconspicuous plastic cards to buy staples, Concannon told The Washington Post.
A big step toward acceptance was a push by the George W. Bush administration to call food stamps "nutritional aid" instead of welfare, and to make it easier to apply.
The program is expanding by about 20,000 out-of-work and underemployed people a day, the Post reported, noting the growth has been swift in once-prosperous communities effected by the housing bust.
"It's time for us to face up to the fact that in this country of plenty, there are hungry people," Concannon said.
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| Additional U.S. News Stories | |
TACOMA, Wash., Feb. 9 (UPI) --
The mother of Josh Powell, who killed himself and his sons in a fire in Washington state, said in divorce papers he exhibited disturbing behavior as a teenager.
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NEW YORK, Feb. 9 (UPI) --
Macaulay Culkin is in "perfectly good health," his publicist said after the former child star was photographed looking gaunt and disheveled in New York.
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TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 9 (UPI) --
The Israeli government plans to build a floating liquefied natural gas terminal with a sea-based defense radar system off its Mediterranean coast while forming a naval force to protect its rich offshore gas fields against terrorist attack.
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NEW YORK, Feb. 9 (UPI) --
A New York City subway passenger won a free monthly MetroCard Thursday for taking a picture of the subway's ugliest rat, officials said.
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