By Adrian Florido
As the weak economy battered families across California, food stamp use nearly doubled since 2006. But in San Diego County, the spike has been even more dramatic. Food stamp use has nearly tripled here.
Despite that jump, recent statistics show that San Diego may still only be getting food stamps to about one-third of the people who qualify for them, offering a glimpse of just how many San Diegans may be struggling to put food on the table.
As of September, about 237,000 people were receiving food stamps in the county, up from 83,000 in September 2006, according to a recent analysis by the California Food Policy Advocates, an anti-hunger group. The county has had the third-largest increase in food stamp enrollment in the state.