<DIV>Rep. Trail,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The State Legislature voting to raise sales tax on food by 20% sure didn't help us out either. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I am still waiting for someone to explain to me how someone is able to live on a gross income of $942 a month in order to qualify for the food stamps in the first place. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best Regards,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Donovan<BR><BR><B><I>Tom Trail <ttrail@moscow.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">This is a brief report from the National Council of State Legislators <BR>concerning<BR>tough times that U. S. families face.<BR><BR>States are feeling the impact of hard economic times as more people <BR>turn to food stamps to put meals on the table. The Congressional <BR>Budget Office predicts that<BR>some 28 million people will be using food stamps this year--the highest
level<BR>since the program's inception more than 40 years ago.<BR><BR>Food stamp benefits have not kept pace with the rising price of food. <BR>They average $1 a person per meal and the minimum monthly food stamp <BR>benefit has remained at $10 for the past 30 years. Households with <BR>more than $3,000 in<BR>assets--such as cash or savings--might not qualify.<BR><BR>The Food Stamp Program is funded through the farm bill. The bill which was<BR>recently passed will raise spending on nutrition programs by more <BR>than $10 billion over 10 years. Federal lawmakers agreed to provide <BR>for a big increase in nutrition programs, especially assistance for <BR>low-income families. It will also provide more fresh fruits and <BR>vegetable to elementary schools. The<BR>increase would be paid for by raising customs user fees assed at the <BR>border on imports from abroad.<BR><BR>It is ironic that a low income Idaho citizen who qualifies for food stamps<BR>will not be eligible for the
food tax credit recently passed by the Idaho<BR>Legislature.<BR><BR>Rep. Tom Trail<BR>-- <BR>Dr. Tom Trail<BR>International Trails<BR>1375 Mt. View Rd.<BR>Moscow, Id. 83843<BR>Tel: (208) 882-6077<BR>Fax: (208) 882-0896<BR>e mail ttrail@moscow.com<BR><BR>=======================================================<BR>List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR>http://www.fsr.net <BR>mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><p>