For some food stamp recipients: work or lose benefits

In three counties, the answers is yes for able-bodied adults without children. New rules, which began Jan. 1, apply to thousands of recipients in Cobb, Gwinnett and Hall counties. State officials expect to expand the program next year. Under the new plan, recipients can collect food stamps for only three months in a three-year period, unless they get into a job or training program.

The head of the state Division of Children and Family Services says moving Georgians from government assistance into work is good for the state. But some advocates for the poor worry state officials are threatening access to the most basic necessity - food.