Hernandez began driving an ice cream truck after her husband lost his job. They get $618 a month in food stamps to help feed their six children. View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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BENEFITS SERVING OTHER NEEDS, TOO

Stimulus provides short-term relief for those struggling to buy food

BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

Date published: 6/14/2009

By Flowers Umble BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

The $19 billion in stimulus money pumped into food stamps won't quiet hungry Americans' rumbling stomachs, hunger advocates say.

But some of that money could provide peaceful moments in a chaotic Stafford County household.

On a recent evening, the Hernandez children grew tired and grumpy soon after dinner.

The six kids--three of whom wake up at 6 a.m. to make the Head Start bus--began fighting over coloring books, blanket-and-pillow forts and puzzles.

Then Israel Hernandez walked into the kitchen and cut up a honeydew.

The double-wide trailer in White Oak grew calm instantly.

The children, ages 1 to 9, wandered to the table, sat down and quietly gobbled up the green melon.

More bang for the buck

And thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Israel and Penny Hernandez should have more of those moments ahead.

The $3 melons might not seem like a magic bullet for saving the sagging economy.

But food stamp investments multiply--each dollar given to the nutrition program pumps $1.73 into the economy, said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.

So when Penny Hernandez uses her food stamp card to pay for a melon, she puts the equivalent of $5.19 into circulation.

Her family received an increase of $124 each month from the stimulus package--which increased food stamp benefits by 13.6 percent as of April 1.

"This is sort of a two-fer: It's helping the least advantaged among us, but it's also providing a stimulus to the economy," said Robert Rycroft, economics professor at the University of Mary Washington. "It will provide a short-term dose of stimulus. It will also provide support to people who've been most harmed by our current economic mess."

DESPERATE CHOICES

The Hernandez family felt the impact of the recession early on--by the summer of 2006 when Israel Hernandez lost his construction job.

The couple lost their spacious King George County home soon after.

And the fruit so loved by the Hernandez children--melons, bananas and apples--disappeared, too.

A family therapist mentioned that the children needed more fruit. Penny Hernandez admitted she couldn't afford such luxuries.

After her husband lost his job, they moved in with Penny's parents in southern Stafford, and later moved into a trailer on her parents' land.

657,215 Virginians receiving food stamp benefits $19 billion Stimulus money going to food stamps nationwide $2.61 million Food stamp stimulus money in Virginia 13.6 percent Increase in food stamp benefits to participants $1.25 Average food stamp allotment, per meal $83,770,843 Total amount of food stamp benefits given out in Virginia in April 2009 This is an occasional series in print and online about the federal stimulus package's impact on our area. To see earlier stories from the series as well as more multimedia content, visit fredericksburg.com.

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Date published: 6/14/2009

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