MADISON, Wis. (WJMC) — With the federal shutdown set to disrupt FoodShare assistance on Nov. 1, we look at how many people will that impact in Northwest Wisconsin.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, for the nine county region region of Barron, Burnett, Chippewa, Dunn, Polk, Rusk, Sawyer, St. Croix and Washburn counties, a total of 17,389 households were receiving FoodShare allotments in September, composing 32,432 people, or about 8.6 percent of the total population.
Rusk County had the highest percentage, with 15.9 percent, followed by Burnett, Washburn and Barron counties at around 12 percent of the population.
Of those 17,389 households, 30 percent had children, but just over 3 percent had able-bodied working adults without children.
The average allotment per household was $270 dollars, or about $142 per person, per month. All told, around $520,441 in FoodShare assistance was provided to Northwest Wisconsin residents in September.