Email, Robert Bernstein, public affairs officer, U.S. Census Bureau, June 2, 2015
3:45 p.m.
Gardner,
Our subject-matter expert weighs in ....
Robert Bernstein
Public Information Office
U.S. Census Bureau
From: Jonathan Vespa
Sent: Tuesday, June 2, 2015 4:34 PM
Subject: Re: Inquiry for a fact check
Hi Robert,
To answer the reporter's question, the governor's quote is correct: 1 in 5 children live in a family that receives food stamps.
As far as comparing the rates to previous years, that same press release has a time comparison to 2007 (just prior to the recession). The proportion of children that received food stamps then was roughly 1 in 8.
Jonathan Vespa, PhD
Demographer
US Census Bureau
Fertility and Family Statistics Branch
9:05 a.m.
June 3, 2015
We do have figures for Texas from the ACS, but the universe is households, rather than children.
Table B22002: Receipt of Food Stamps/SNAP in the Past 12 Months By Presence of Children Under 18 Years By Household Type for households
Percentages for 2013:
Table S2201: Food Stamps/SNAP