Study Says Federal Food Aid Also Feeds Local Economy And Jobs

A local economist says federal money allocated to feeding Franklin County’s poor has a significant impact on the regional economy. Regionomics owner Bill LaFayette says every $5 dollars spent in Franklin County – at a grocery store for example – actually generates $8 dollars. “That grocery store then becomes busier and they may have to hire additional people. Those additional people take their wages and then go and buy groceries of their own, they may go and buy a car, they may go and buy a haircut,â€? LaFayette says. LaFayette released his findings Thursday. He says federal food assistance programs boost Franklin County’s economic output by $309 million dollars annually.