The number of Americans receiving food stamps has exceeded 45 million for four straight years, according to new data released by the Department of Agriculture.
As of April, there were 45,438,832 people on the food stamp program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The number of recipients has remained above 45 million since May 2011, peaking at 47.8 million in December 2012, reported the Washington Free Beacon.
In April, the average household received $256.93 per month in food stamp benefits, or about $127 per person, costing taxpayers $5.7 billion each month and almost $41 billion so far in fiscal year 2015.
Since the USDA began tracking data on SNAP participation in fiscal year 1969, the average participation has increased 16-fold, from 2.8 million to 46.5 million in 2014.
Over the program's lifetime, one of the largest increases in cost came shortly after President Obama took office. In 2008, $37.6 billion was spent on the program, and in 2009, that jumped to $53.6 billion.
Costs do seem to be declining, though. Current estimates put the program's total cost for 2015 at about $64 billion, which would be down from the $74 billion spent last year, according to the Independent Journal Review.
Commenting on the new statistics in a controversial Facebook message posted Monday, the Oklahoma Republican Party said that giving people food stamps is akin to feeding animals in national parks, reported The Associated Press.
The post went on to say that the National Park Service discourages people from feeding wild animals because they "will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves," concluding with, "Thus ends today's lesson in irony."
