Californians still lagging in food stamp use

The percentage of Americans using food stamps was 14.3 percent in February, according to the Agriculture Department (via Real Time Economics), but among Californians, it was just 9.7 percent. Only seven states have a lower percentage, although California did see a 13.6 percent increase in food stamp use compared with a year earlier (places like the Inland Empire have reported increases since the recession). California's low usage rate is not new and generally has been attributed to skittishness by undocumented immigrants, even though many of them are eligible for government assistance.