Food stamp cuts could hurt community

As part of welfare program reductions, the cuts may "suck $26 million" out of the area economy. Philadelphia residents will see the impact of recently approved reductions to the federal welfare program tomorrow, as a series of food stamp cutbacks go into effect. Local food retailers -- many of whom receive sizable portions of their revenue from consumers using food stamps -- have expressed concern about the cuts' social impact on the West Philadelphia area. Many fear they will suffer financially from the reductions. In order to comply with federal welfare reforms passed earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is working to reduce the food stamp program substantially. Approximately $26 billion will be cut from the food stamp program in Pennsylvania over the next 6 years, which currently provides assistance to 364,847 people in the greater Philadelphia area alone. By Saturday, all single adults without children on state-run General Assistance welfare -- which had provided cash assistance and food stamps to the poor -- will be ineligible to receive the stamps. And most legal immigrants who had received food stamps will be ineligible for them and will lose other benefits as well. Any cuts in the food stamp program will present problems for the area, said Glenn Bryan, director of the University's Office of Community Relations. "Institutions and businesses will have to find ways of dealing with this," he said. And Social Work Professor Dennis Culhain -- who has done an analysis of the welfare cuts -- stressed that "food stamp cuts are just part of" the potential problems the welfare cuts pose to poor areas. He explained that the food market industry will be disproportionately affected by the welfare cuts in general and by the food stamp reductions in particular. Culhain added that the food stamp cuts will reduce consumer purchasing substantially, adding that the reductions "will suck $26 million" out of the city's food market industry. And because people in poverty tend to be concentrated in certain areas, Culhain said the effects will be concentrated in certain areas as well. "Not necessarily University City," he explained in reference to the food stores which will be affected by the cuts. "But definitely above 50th Street." A manager of the Thriftway Supermarket at 43rd and Walnut streets, however, said he believes the food stamp cutback will affect all of the supermarkets in the area. The manager, who wished to remain anonymous, estimated that 35 percent of the store's customers use food stamps, stressing that the cuts would result in a considerable decrease in the store's revenues. "Anyone in the [food market] business should be concerned with this," he said. Migdalia Serrano, manager of the Wawa convenience store at 36th and Chestnut streets, said she was not overly concerned about the cuts since a large percentage of her customers were students. She added that the food stamp reductions will still affect the store because at least 10 percent of her customers use food stamps. "But I'm still glad they're cutting them," she said. "There are a lot of people that get them who don't need them."