Graph: SNAP benefits recipients

By Julie Siple, Minnesota Public Radio
Aug. 20, 2012

More than 46 million Americans currently receive food stamps, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. A small but growing number of young college graduates are among them.

Those graduates account for very little of the recent spike in food stamp use, but they are growing at a faster rate than food stamp users their age with less education. Between 2006 and 2010, the number of young bachelor's degree holders on the program more than doubled.

While changes in eligibility account for some of the growth among these young college graduates, many have been negatively affected by the economic downturn. A recent study from Rutgers University found that just over half of recent graduates with a bachelor's degree are employed full-time.

Graph by Robert Boos, Minnesota Public Radio