The number of people relying on food stamps has jumped in Wisconsin, thanks to the recession and a stubbornly high unemployment rate.

In 2011, one out of every seven Wisconsin residents received food stamps, or FoodShare. That’s a big increase from 2005, when one out of every 15 residents received food stamps. Children make up just under half of all the people receiving food stamps in Wisconsin.

Food stamp usage became more prevalent across the entire state between 2005 and 2011, as shown on the map below. (If you are getting this post via email, you will have to go to the blog in order for the map to fuully function.) By shifting the slider to show different years, you can see that food stamp usage increases in nearly every county in Wisconsin. In Milwaukee County, food stamp usage increased by 55% over this period, the smallest percentage increase of any county. In St. Croix County, a relatively affluent county, the number of people benefitting from food stamps increased by 158 percent between 2005 and 2011.

Tamarine Cornelius