Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2025

Do half the residents in one rural Wisconsin county receive food stamps?

Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch

yes

In April, 2,004 residents of Menominee County in northeast Wisconsin received benefits from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

That’s about 46% of the county’s 4,300 residents.

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps and called FoodShare in Wisconsin, provides food assistance for low-income people.

Other reports show similar rates.

As of March 2024, 51% of residents in the Menominee tribal nation received SNAP, according to the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum.

The latest U.S. Census data, for 2022, showed the rate for Menominee County was 49%.

American Indians constitute nearly 80% of the county’s population.

Menominee County’s rate was cited June 14 by U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., at the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention. He commented on President Donald Trump’s tax cut bill pending in Congress. It would remove an estimated 3.2 million people from SNAP, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

SNAP cost $100 billion in 2024, 1.5% of the federal budget.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Wisconsin Department of Health Services: State Food Stamp/Foodshare Benefits and Participation Data
U.S. Department of Agriculture: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Wisconsin Department of Health Services: FoodShare: Your Income Could Make You Eligible
Wisconsin Policy Forum: FoodShare Use Remains High Post Pandemic
U.S. Census Bureau: Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates -- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
U.S. Census Bureau: Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates -- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Menominee County
Wisconsin Democratic Party: WisDems 2025 Convention - Day 1
Congressional Budget Office: Letter
U.S. Department of Agriculture: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Costs
The Journalist's Resource: As Congress considers cuts to SNAP, we address 8 questions about this US federal nutrition program

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Do half the residents in one rural Wisconsin county receive food stamps?

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