George Sheldon, who heads the state's Department of Children and Families, says many applicants are in former boom areas, such as Fort Myers, where construction has ground to a halt.

NPR: Stimulus Would Help States Provide Food Stamps

In the boom years between 1990 and 1996, the incidence of underweight children below the age of five halved to about 8%.

CNN: CHILDREN OF THE CRISIS

Saving started declining in the mid-1980s as the baby-boom generation began the high-spending part of life, having children and buying homes.

ECONOMIST: The sorry state of saving