Many people in poverty in South Dakota are not signed up for food stamps
Data on Poverty & Food Stamps in South Dakota

The tax on groceries takes food off the tables of those who have limited funds for food and lack any (or enough) food stamps.

NOTES ON THE CHART BELOW: 1. Food stamp caseloads rise and fall with the economy. Even more people are in poverty since the 2000 census.

2. The Self-Sufficiency Standards (which vary by S.D. county) are approximately between 150-220% of poverty level, often very similar to 200%. Thus, besides those in abject poverty (column 2 below), many above poverty level also have limited funds for necessities and lack food or other necessities, such as those in column 3.

3. These figures do not include people living in institutions, military group quarters, college dormitories, or unrelated children under 15 years old.

4. Many of those who receive food stamps receive only a partial allotment of food stamps. Examples:
(1) Mr. Poppen, an elderly man who worries about eating right for his diabetes, receives only $10 a month in food stamps, because he has disability income.
(2) Because Margaret and her husband have earnings (at $7 and $9/hr respectively), their family of five receives only $39 a month in food stamps. They spend hundreds of fully-taxed dollars each month for groceries, in addition to the food stamps, which are not taxed.

Check this chart for information on neighbors in your county:

Census Year: 2000
People receiving
Food Stamps		 People in poverty People below
200% of poverty
State Total
42,986
95,900
219,754
Aurora
76
327
1,095
Beadle
686
1,977
5,740
Bennett
907
1,367
2,144
Bon Homme
191
802
2,274
Brookings
613
3,562
8,050
Brown
1,396
3,373
10,334
Brule
201
741
1,957
Butte
535
1,147
3,962
Campbell
37
251
726
Charles Mix
1,280
2,462
5,011
Clark
158
607
1,1662
Clay
701
2,406
4,955
Codington
961
2,314
7,405
Corson
876
1,692
2,928
Custer
276
659
2,147
Davison
952
2,068
5,558
Day
406
869
2,347
Deuel
129
462
1,421
Dewey
1,228
1,973
3,881
Douglas
66
487
1,354
Edmunds
102
585
1,662
Fall River
437
951
2,857
Faulk
40
468
1,114
Grant
277
761
2,370
Gregory
293
942
2,206
Haakon
57
298
755
Hamlin
176
660
2,181
Hand
96
339
1,221
Hanson
62
521
1,249
Harding
9
277
654
Hughes
775
1,255
3,451
Hutchinson
211
1,002
2,879
Hyde
77
200
540
Jackson
669
1,053
2,006
Jerauld
48
464
856
Jones
25
188
492
Kingsbury
108
561
1,737
Lake
424
1,024
3,005
Lawrence
753
3,073
7,737
Linclon
267
1,053
4,263
Lyman
426
941
1,916
McCook
185
458
1,724
McPherson
48
640
1,446
Marshall
130
621
1,741
Meade
774
2,195
7,681
Melette
503
724
1,249
Miner
82
334
1,085
Minnehaha
5,156
10,790
30,666
Moody
173
623
1,933
Pennington
6,173
9,967
25,914
Perkins
135
561
1,469
Potter
68
331
971
Roberts
1,061
2,175
4,712
Sanborn
63
391
966
Shannon
4,596
6,385
9,485
Spink
288
896
2,457
Stanley
76
238
691
Sully
19
186
514
Todd
3,166
4,294
6,525
Tripp
563
1,254
2,793
Turner
156
617
2,469
Union
277
681
2,521
Walworth
418
1,049
2,506
Yankton
802
1,920
5,858
Ziebach
673
1,256
1,817