The first step is the most important and it's the easiest. Since 1996 requests for food assistance have more than doubled.
Several factors are responsible for the increase.
Wages in Utah are relatively low. The cost of living, however, is the 17th highest. Utah also has the highest dependency ratio in the nation with 3.67 dependent mouths to feed per household. Housing costs during the same period increased faster in Utah than in any other state. The state Department of Economic Analysis reports that Utahns with jobs near the minimum wage do not earn enough to support a family and pay for inflated housing costs.