Washington:
Nearly one-third of Americans receive subsidized food assistance from the government. The number of people receiving the assistance has outstripped the total number of people employed in the America's private sector.
According to newsmax.com, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates a total of 101 million people currently participate in at least one of the nation's 15 federal food programmes.
The assistance programme is cost taxpayers 114 billion dollars 2012.
The food stamp programme represents the largest federally funded food assistance programme, with a record 46.7 million participants, costing 88.6 billion dollars in 2012.
The next largest is the National School Lunch programme that provides 32 million students with low-cost or no-cost meals daily.
According to the report, a July 3 Inspector General's audit has revealed that there could be overlap in the food programmes offered by the USDA with some households and individuals participating in multiple programmes.
