Food stamps are not welfare – they are an important support for working families striving to gain economic independence (“John Vliet Spitzer,” Editorial, June 6).

Increases in food stamp recipients cited by The Post coincide with huge drops in the number of New Yorkers receiving cash welfare assistance.

Ensuring that those moving into the workforce can succeed means providing them with the economic supports that help keep families out of poverty.

Gov. Spitzer’s Working Families Food Stamp Initiative does just that.

David A. Hansell
Commissioner NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Albany