Some politicians have stated that they believe too many Americans depend on food stamps and other forms of government assistance to survive.
Many of those who oppose these programs cite fraudulent activity as their reasoning and they believe people should be employed instead.
But according to the Huffington Post, recent data shows millions of people who actually qualify for assistance never sign up to get them. Some people may not even know that they are able to get these benefits.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that in fiscal 2010, nearly 51 million people in the country were qualified to receive the benefits but just a mere 38 million actually took advantage of the programs available.
According to the Huffington Post, many older Americans are among the millions who qualify but do not sign up. They say less than 40% of those who were eligible enrolled in the programs in 2010.
