Food Stamp experts aren’t born, they’re trained. In the past year our Benefits Connection food stamp outreach team has grown from four staff to ten. In that time we’ve learned that if we pick specialists with people skills we can always train the food stamp policy later.

It takes a month from the first work day to be able to go out into the field solo. Our training process is a combination of classroom learning, self-study and shadowing. Our greenhorns are paired up throughout their training period with our Benefits Connects veterans who have seen nearly everything possible while helping our clients get assistance.

The learning doesn’t end after first month though. We have trainings and best practice sessions throughout the year for all of our Benefits Connection staff. It’s a great way to team build and enhance our program. A well educated team is better equipped to serve the community.

Learn more about our Benefits Connection Program.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

One of the programs I oversee here at Second Harvest is our Benefits Connection Program. This team of food bankers goes out into the community with laptops and scanners to complete food stamp applications at our partner feeding programs.

Since this program started a year ago it has generated over $6 million in food stamp dollars. We love this program, because the clients get to pick exactly what food they need for their family with these dollars.

I’m in the middle of researching some national statistics about food stamp use and found a wealth of information from the USDA.

Those who know me, know that I love numbers! I thought you might be interested in some of the facts about food stamp participants nationally:

• 49% are children
• 9% are over 60 years old
• 41% of all participants lived in households with earnings
• 13% have incomes over the poverty line
• 15% have no cash income of any kind
• $691 is the average gross income
• Average food stamp household received monthly benefit of $212.
• Only 7% of applicants get the minimum amount of $10.
• Average household size is 2.2
• 44% are Caucasian
• 33% are African-American
• 19% are Hispanic
• 4% are of other races

If you’re interested in Benefits Connection, or any of our other food outreach programs, please contact me.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs
407.295.1066 ext. 30
bkoch@foodbankcentralflorida.org