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Owsley County, Kentucky isn't known for anything special. It's in the eastern part of the state where there used to be a coal mining area. In the 2012 presidential election, 81% of the vote was for Romney. There are 3,144 counties in the US and only three have more of their population in food stamps than Owsley. 52% of the county benefits from SNAP compared to a nationwide average of 15%.
Further south on the map, where the Mississippi loops back and forth in a series of countless tight squiggles, Humphreys County is found 20 miles east of the river. After Owsley, it ranks next in the use of food stamps. 51% of the population there benefits from SNAP. Like Owsley, Humphreys is in an area where poverty is a problem. Owsley, KY is 99% white while Humphreys, MS is 72% black.
Estrangement between the races shows up in the House representatives from districts where a lot of people use SNAP. Throughout Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia where 62 of the 100 counties in the US with the highest participation in SNAP, white voters elect Republican representatives, while black voters elect Democrats. The Democratic House members support the food stamps program. The Republican members betray and undermine their constituents by opposing the program.
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US Counties with the Highest Rate of Participation in SNAP
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County |
Participation |
Shannon, SD |
59.6% |
Todd, SD |
55.4% |
Wade Hampton, AK |
54.2% |
Owsley, KY |
52.2% |
Humphreys, MS |
50.6% |
Menominee, WI |
49.8% |
Sioux, ND |
47.2% |
Buffalo, SD |
46.4% |
Wilcox, AL |
45.8% |
Perry, AL |
45.6% |
Sharkey, MS |
45.57% |
East Carroll, LA |
45.32% |
Starr, TX |
44.76% |
Clay, KY |
43.67% |
Dewey, SD |
43.50% |
Bennett, SD |
43.02% |
Holmes, MS |
42.81% |
Rolette, ND |
42.74% |
Wolfe, KY |
42.30% |
Brooks, TX |
42.24% |
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US Counties with the most SNAP Recipients
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County |
# of SNAP Recipients |
Los Angeles, CA |
971,030 |
Cook, IL |
901,857 |
Kings (Bklyn), NY |
688,876 |
Harris, TX |
586,937 |
Maricopa, AZ |
572,456 |
Miami-Dade, FL |
564,407 |
Wayne, MI |
535,011 |
Philadelphia, PA |
433,086 |
Bronx, NY |
430,569 |
Dallas, TX |
390,459 |
Queens, NY |
347,459 |
San Bernardino, CA |
312,677 |
Bexar, TX |
299,115 |
New York, NY |
281,957 |
Hidalgo, TX |
261,621 |
Cuyahoga, OH |
258,191 |
Shelby, TN |
252,760 |
Milwaukee, WI |
247,698 |
Clark, NV |
242,342 |
Hillsborough, FL |
230,784 |
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Seven of the ten counties with the highest participation in SNAP, including the top three counties, are located entirely within Native American Indian land in the Dakotas, Alaska, and Wisconsin. It's important to understand that the counties are ranked by their participation rates. In sparsely populated areas a high participation rate doesn't add up to a lot of people or a lot of money to provide benefits for them.
Using raw numbers for the count of individuals benefitting from SNAP, Southern California has one of the largest concentrations of participants in the nation. The combined total in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino is more than the number found in Alabama and Mississippi combined. In the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, the five boroughs of New York City, the number of SNAP recipients is more than the number in Kentucky and Louisiana combined.
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Congressional District representation in areas of the South where SNAP participation rates are highest.
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In the map above, the counties with high participation rates in SNAP are shaded dark purple. The congressional districts represented by Democrats are outlined in blue. The districts represented by Republicans are outlined in red.
Mississippi's 2nd Congressional District represented by Democrat Bennie Thompson includes 11 counties with high participation rates in SNAP.
Alabama's 7th Congressional District, represented by Democrat Terri Sewell, includes a cluster of high participation counties along the state line with Mississippi.
Georgia's 2nd Congressional District, represented by Democrat Sanford Bishop, includes a number of counties in the southwest portion of the state where there is a high degree of participation in SNAP.
Georgia's 12th Congressional District, represented by Democrat John Barrow also includes a few counties where SNAP is prevalent.
In Texas, the 23rd Congressional District, represented by Democrat Pete Gallego, the 28th Congressional District, represented by Democrat Henry Cuellar, the 15th Congressional District, represented by Democrat Ruben Hinojosa, and the 34th Congressional District, represented by Democrat Filemon Vela include counties with high participation in SNAP along the Rio Grande.
Kentucky's 5th Congressional District, represented by Republican Hal Rogers, serving his 17th term, is one of the poorest parts of the US with 16 counties where a large part of the population benefits from SNAP. Rep. Rogers voted to cut funding for the program. He's also one of the Republicans who voted in favor of the farming bill that made no provision for the funding of SNAP.
Kentucky's 6th Congressional District, represented by Republican Andy Barr, includes a few more counties where there is heavy use of the food stamps program. Rep. Barr voted like most Republicans to cut funding and leave the future of benefits in doubt.
In Tennessee, Republican Phil Roe represents the 1st Congressional District and Republican Chuck Fleischmann represents the 3rd Congressional District. Although a large part of the population in the area uses food stamps, both representatives voted to cut funding for the program and to excise it from the yearly farming bill.
Louisiana's 5th Congressional District is represented by Republican Rodney Alexander. The district is across the river from Mississippi's 2nd, noted above, but Rep. Alexander voted against funding for SNAP despite its prevalence in the area.
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