Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

|

Food stamp use jumped during COVID-19 pandemic and has remained high

Food stamp use jumped during COVID-19 pandemic and has remained high
Average monthly number of __ receiving food stamps, by fiscal year
Chart
Note: Figures for fiscal year 2025 represent the eight-month average from October 2024 to May 2025.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Food and Nutrition Service within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Food stamp use jumped during COVID-19 pandemic and has remained high
Average monthly number of __ receiving food stamps, by fiscal year
YearRecipientsHouseholds
198021,082,012 7,500,447
198122,429,574 8,215,412
198221,717,398 7,906,747
198321,624,639 7,851,018
198420,853,632 7,593,927
198519,899,052 7,331,142
198619,429,102 7,213,148
198719,113,129 7,132,443
198818,645,291 7,055,594
198918,806,4637,231,080
199020,048,9787,795,796
199122,624,6278,877,435
199225,406,98510,060,308
199326,986,77510,790,246
199427,473,69611,091,217
199526,618,77310,879,367
199625,542,53110,548,913
199722,858,1379,454,705
199819,790,9858,249,658
199918,182,5387,668,481
200017,194,3347,351,316
200117,318,4587,449,156
200219,095,6378,194,746
200321,249,6269,152,912
200423,810,74210,277,379
200525,628,45611,195,797
200626,548,83311,732,776
200726,316,04511,787,765
200828,222,63012,727,450
200933,489,97515,232,115
201040,301,87818,618,436
201144,708,72621,072,113
201246,609,07222,329,713
201347,636,09023,052,396
201446,663,61622,743,911
201545,766,67222,522,261
201644,219,36321,777,938
201742,316,55020,897,709
201840,775,72820,209,268
201935,702,47217,964,076
202039,852,77820,487,155
202141,603,71221,706,157
202241,208,25121,620,718
202342,176,94622,309,532
202441,702,65222,206,578
202542,406,47922,689,984
Download data as .csv
Note: Figures for fiscal year 2025 represent the eight-month average from October 2024 to May 2025.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Food and Nutrition Service within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Icon for promotion number 1

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Fresh data delivered Saturday mornings

Thank you for subscribing!