Alabamians on food stamps increasing - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

Alabamians on food stamps increasing

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  • Friday, May 17 2013 11:17 PM EDT2013-05-18 03:17:33 GMT
    An inmate is on the loose in Etowah County.  The Sheriff's department says an inmate kitchen worker escaped the Etowah County Detention Center (ECDC) Friday morning.  Justin Wade Hopkins, 30, escaped from
    The Etowah County Sheriff's Office says an inmate kitchen worker escaped the Etowah County Detention Center Friday morning. 

Nearly one in five Alabama residents is getting food stamps, and the number is growing again after declining for a few months. The number of Alabamians on food stamps peaked at 916,000 in December and then began declining slightly each month. It reached a low of 902,000 people in April. Then, in May, the number rose to nearly 907,000 people on food stamps. That's the equivalent of 19 percent of Alabama's residents.

The increase coincided with Alabama's unemployment rate going up in May after declining for several months. Experts say it's too early to tell if the increase in food stamp use is a bump on the road to recovery or the beginning of a trend.