Food stamps

06 obama economy foodstamps

One of the clearest signs of how much people were hurting during the recession is that nearly 50 million Americans -- roughly 15% of the population -- needed food stamps.

Food stamp use peaked in 2013 and has fallen slightly since, although it remains a elevated levels and far higher than when President Obama took office in 2009. It's another sign the recovery isn't reaching everybody yet.

First published January 6, 2017: 11:46 AM ET

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