Mich., Pa. Put Limits On Families Seeking Food Aid

KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN

HOWELL, Mich. (AP) — The 2010 Buick Enclave parked in her garage kept Michigan resident Renee Moore from getting food stamps for two months last year, even though her family's income had dropped to below the poverty level, her husband's Ford Explorer had 300,000 miles on it and her family had less than $1,000 in the bank.

The reason? In the eyes of the state, she owned too much.

Unlike other states that moved away from setting limits on what families like the Moores can own before they qualify for help, Michigan last year made it harder for thousands of residents to become eligible for food stamps by adopting new limits on what people can own. Pennsylvania also is toughening its so-called asset test, adding new restrictions on who gets government help.

The move to redefine who's truly needy comes after cash-strapped states saw a surge of applications for food stamp aid during the economic downturn. Still, leaders maintain the assistance needs to be targeted to those who need it most.

"We're asking tough things, but we had a huge budget deficit and we had to work through that," Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said. "We always try to help the people in the greatest need."

Advocates for the poor have fought the new limits in both states, and while both have scaled back their original limits amid criticism they were too harsh, the changes still are expected to push thousands off the rolls.

In Michigan, families like the Moores were caught in limbo while the state worked out how much was too much to own.

When the limits were put into place last fall, recipients couldn't have more than $5,000 in the bank or own cars worth more than $15,000. That's when Moore, her husband and the couple's 9- and 17-year-old sons lost the $419 in monthly aid they were receiving because the Buick Enclave they inherited when Renee's mother died made them ineligible.