WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21: FOOD STAMPS

Profile America — Saturday, September 21st. On this date in 1959, Congress acted to help some Americans achieve minimum levels of nutrition, passing a bill which created food stamps for those with low incomes. In 2008, the Food Stamp Program was renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Today, there are nearly 47 million Americans enrolled in the program, more than double the number of a decade ago. The average value of the benefit they receive each month is almost $133, and the total cost of the federal program is some $78 billion a year. The state with the highest food stamp or SNAP participation is Oregon with nearly 18 percent of the population. States with the lowest rates included California, New Jersey and Wyoming. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  www.fns.usda.gov/pd/SNAPsummary.htmU.S. Census Bureau, News Release, CB11-TPS.48

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

RELATED LINKShttp://www.census.gov