A growing number of people live on  zero dollars in monthly cash and a few hundred dollars in food stamps, an overlooked subgroup that is growing especially fast according to the NY Times.. The surge in this precarious way of life has been so swift that few policy makers have noticed. But it attests to the growing role of food stamps within the safety net. One in eight Americans now receives food stamps, including one in four children. See Vincent’s Pulse for many other such poverty indicators.