Return to the PIE Home PageIn 1997, the number of households receiving Food Stamps in Franklin County was 32,429 (74,466 individuals), the lowest it has been for 10 years. This represents a 16.1% decrease over the 38,649 households receiving foodstamps in 1996. These figures include persons who may or may not be receiving other forms of public assistance besides food stamps.
Additional data from the Council for Economic Opportunities suggests that a significant segment of the poor are not receiving food stamps for which they are eligible. In 1990, Franklin County's Food Stamp Participation Index was 75.8, ranking it 50th among Ohio's counties. Cuyahoga County ranked first with a Food Stamp Participation Index of 124.5. The Food Stamp Participation Index is measured as the ratio of the percentage of all households receiving food stamps to the percentage of all households below poverty. The Index can exceed 100 because the 1990 Census number of households below poverty, used in the ratio, was undercounted. In other words, there are more people below the poverty level in places like Cuyahoga and Mahoning Counties than the Census found.
Number of Average Number of
Year Households Individuals per Month
1980 32,836 NA
1981 34,458 NA
1982 33,540 NA
1983 36,873 91,927
1984 36,925 90,496
1985 35,200 85,848
1986 33,388 81,821
1987 31,061 76,839
1988 31,403 78,165
1989 33,926 82,687
1990 37,315 92,185
1991 42,848 103,873
1992 47,013 112,541
1993 49,649 116,459
1994 50,150 114,744
1995 47,661 104,087
1996 38,649 89,210
1997 32,429 74,466
Source: Ohio Department of Human Services
County 1980 1990 Cuyahoga 109.3 124.5 Franklin 82.5 75.8 Hamilton 71.5 84.4 Lucas 115.5 99.4 Mahoning 125.4 117.5 Montgomery 70.0 74.1 Stark 82.3 93.5 Summit 102.5 101.6
Source: Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland, "Ohio Poverty Indicators"
Filename: SI-016