Food stamps

Almost one in 10 Floridians is now on food stamps, and state managers say many more qualify.

In the last two years, the number of Floridians on food stamps has increased more than 40 percent to 1.7 million.

In 1991, the number of Floridians on food stamps was close to one million people -- about 7.7 percent of the population.

A person living on their own who earns $1,127 or less a month can qualify for food stamps, as can a family of four making $2,297 or less monthly.

Certain documented immigrants are eligible and no poor undocumented immigrant children are turned away.

The program requires people ages 16 to 60 years old to ''register for work, accept suitable employment, and take part in an employment and training program to which they are referred,'' according to DCF's website. If they don't seek work, adults ages 18 to 50 can receive food stamps for only three months in a three-year period.

Processing applications for food stamps is taking longer -- close to 20 days compared to the typical 15 to 17.