With rising education costs, college students are looking for new ways to save. More and more students are turning to food stamps, the government program that provides money to those that cannot afford it.
Since a basic meal plan at Georgia State totals up at just under $1,700 each semester, students like senior Taylor Smith say food stamps, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, offer a more appealing alternative than meal plans.
"With me being a senior and living on campus for the past four years, I honestly got tired of paying that amount of money per semester just to eat," Smith said. "I did not even know that I was applicable for food stamps until someone told me about the site and to apply to see if I would get it. Since then, I have saved a ton of money."
The Department of Family and Children Services cites that the program is designed to assist low income households that do not have the resources to provide adequate food. However, many college students also qualify for the program.
Generally, two qualifications are necessary for a person to receive aid.
First, the applicant must demonstrate proof of no or low income employment. Second, they must show proof of residency in the state or county of which the student is applying.
"The application process is really simple," said Smith. "Once I applied, about two weeks later I received the card in the mail with about 200 dollars worth just for food, and the good thing about it is that I get one every month."
And it appears more and more people are applying.
Nearly one in five people rely on food stamps in Georgia, and there has been an 87 percent jump in the program since the recession in 2007, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Overall, Americans will pay $65 billion to fund the SNAP program this year, more than double what it cost in 2005.
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