Approximately 300,000 Californians  are expected to enter their names on the rolls for food stamps next  year.

Federal stimulus money is providing more than 13% of funding for  additional food stamp provisions, offering approximately $40 additional  dollars to food stamp recipients in California, for every month. This  will amount to more than $300 million additional dollars worth of food  stamps, to be handed out every month.

The California Food Stamp Program  added just over $40 to the handout to typical California residents receiving  food stamps, starting on April 1. The ARRA, or American Recovery and  Reinvestment Act, has been bankrolling the recently increased numbers,  providing an estimated additional $40-$50 million extra per month to  state residents, through 2010.

There are more than 2 million California  residents on food stamps currently, and estimates place that number  as inching closer to 3 million, particularly with the tightening economy,  and recent passage of bills making it easier to claim need for food  stamps. The federally-designated umbrella term for food stamp programs  throughout the nation is the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.  AB 433 made it easier to obtain food stamps in California, by bypassing  previous "asset tests" to determine need.

According to the California  Association of Food Banks and a report by the Food Research and Action  Center, the money allotted to food banks may not be used wisely. The  report estimated that in 2006, less than 30 percent of those eligible  for food stamp benefits in San Diego and only about 50 percent of those  residing in Los Angeles who are eligible, are actually participating  in the statewide program to receive food stamps, which resulted in well  over $450 million being "lost out on" by the state, in "federally-funded  benefits."

Various California counties  have been working on their own specific plans to answer the problem  of growing unemployment, and growing needs for federal and state assistance.

County welfare departments  and their food stamp offices ultimately can determine whether or not  an individual satisfies the criteria to obtain food stamps. According  to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), previously,  "the average amount of food stamp benefits received per household...  about $200 per month." Basic eligibility includes either being under  the age of 18, residence in the U.S. for at least five years, or current  receipt of "disability-related assistance or benefits, regardless  of entry date."

The CDSS notes that the food  stamp granting program is federally funded and is a program that "low-income  people buy the food they need for good health. For most households,  food stamps are only part of their food budget, they must spend some  of their own cash along with their food stamps benefits in order to  buy enough food for a month." The average age of the head of a household  receiving food stamps in California is 37.2 years, with an average of  2.5 members of the household, with an average child age of 8.1. An estimated  92.3% of those on food stamps in California are also U.S. citizens.