OTHER NEWS - Oct. 2, 1992

Food Stamp Sign-Ups Level Off: Enrollment in the food stamp program leveled off this summer but still represented an increase of 2.5 million Americans from a year ago, the Agriculture Department says. Americans receiving food stamps totaled 25.72 million in July, a decline of 22,000 from June. In July, 1991, 23.2 million people were receiving stamps. The number seeking food stamps traditionally falls in the summer because of the availability of seasonal work but picks up again in the fall, “and that’s probably what’s happening here,” USDA spokesman Phil Shanholtzer said. But Rod Leonard, head of Community Nutrition Institute, an advocacy group, said a dip of 22,000 recipients “is in the range of a reporting error. What it means was that there was no decrease in participation of any substantial nature.”