The Northern Marianas Nutrition Assistance Program said families participating in the program have increased 9.4 percent over the past two years.
Photo: 123rf
The program said the number of families relying on food stamps has gradually increased over the course of the past two years, from 2,412 in March 2017 to 3,206 in March 2019.
All but 300 of those families are on Saipan.
Most likely, the rise in food stamp recipients can be due to the economic hardships the islands have been experiencing following back-to-back storms Typhoon Mangkhut and Super Typhoon Yutu late last year.
The food stamp program provides assistance for low or no-income people living in the US.