New state data show that nearly 15,000 Wisconsin residents lost access to food stamps in the first three months of a new law that requires some recipients to seek jobs.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports it obtained the data from the Department of Human Services under the state open records law.
The data show about 25 percent of the 60,000 recipients eligible to work were dropped from the program between July and September. But about 4,500 found work through a new job training program for FoodShare recipients.
FoodShare Wisconsin helps low-income families and individuals to buy nutritious food. Participants can get three months of FoodShare benefits before being kicked out of the program if they decline to look for work.
Most states have eased work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. Thirty states have waived the work requirement for SNAP and 14 waive the requirement in areas of high unemployment, according to the USDA.
