By Alfred Lubrano

Inquirer Staff Writer

The federal official in charge of the U.S. food stamp program said Thursday that Pennsylvania's plan to tie food-stamp benefits to people's assets will save the state nothing and create more problems than it solves.

Secreatary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, in Philadelphia to discuss President Obama's State of the Union message, said the asset test, "is not going to save the commonwealth a single dime," and would, in fact, cost the state money to implement.

In 1997, the federal government revamped our national welfare system.

Under the new rules, people were given better ways to get job training and chart a course off of welfare.

One of the most significant changes from AFDC to TANF, as the new program was called, allowed people to keep more assets; for example, own a car worth more than $1500.

It had become painfully clear over the previous decades that the kind of financial limits placed on families who needed assistance simply continued to suck them into the welfare system.

By Jesse Washington, AP National Writer

Some have advanced degrees and remember middle-class lives. Some work selling lingerie or building websites. They are white, black and Hispanic, young and old, homeowners and homeless. What they have in common: They're all on food stamps.

By Mary Elizabeth McCarthy

Imagine having to choose between buying food or paying medical expenses in order to maintain the meager savings you've put together for your own funerals.

Just this feeling of dread -- something that no senior citizen should have to experience -- washed over me last week when I read about the Corbett administration's proposed asset test for food stamps.

Annette John-Hall, Inquirer Columnist

Oh, the irony of it all.

On Monday, I tried to get someone in Harrisburg to explain why, in the name of all that's fair and just, low-income Pennsylvanians who have managed to build up a modest savings are slated to have their food stamps - now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - cut off.

When I called the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, the office was closed - for the Martin Luther King holiday.

Say what?

By Alfred Lubrano

Inquirer Staff Writer

Pennsylvania plans to make the amount of food stamps that people receive contingent on the assets they possess - an unexpected move that bucks national trends and places the commonwealth among a minority of states.

Specifically, the Department of Public Welfare said that as of May 1, people under 60 with more than $2,000 in savings and other assets would no longer be eligible for food stamps. For people over 60, the limit would be $3,250.

By Alfred Lubrano
Inquirer Staff Writer

In hard times, it seems unthinkable that people would miss out on millions of dollars to which they're entitled.

But that's precisely what's been happening with food stamps in Philadelphia.

An estimated 180,000 city residents who were eligible for food stamps in 2010 never enrolled in the program, known as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, according to new calculations by the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger.

Shannon Collins, Generocity Writer (Photos courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger)

12/26/11 Food drives are popular, especially at this time of year. Dropping off cans is something tangible, a way to feel like you've really contributed to your community. But here's something you may not know: your money may do more to help than cans.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but hear us out. We talked to a range of food banks and pantries around the region, and they all told us the same thing. Cash is king.

Here's why:

New report shows more than 1 in 10 people in Philadelphia struggle to get affordable fruits and vegetables.