Food assistance

? In Maine, 9.2 percent of families are “food-insecure” – nearly one in 10. That percentage was 8.7 percent in 1998.

? Proposed federal budget cuts will bring more bad news: Benefits could be reduced or eliminated for a significant number of the more than 354,000 Mainers who received food stamp assistance last month. One advocate for the poor estimates as many as 16,000 Mainers could lose their food stamps.

? The minimum mounthly food stamp benefit in Maine is $10, while the statewide average is $73 per individual and $161 per family.

? About 17,000 Mainers 65 and older are receiving some level of food stamp benefits, and more than 3,000 of them are at least 80 years old.