This is the economic truth about food stamps:

Nobody squirrels them away.

Nobody invests them.

Nobody uses them to speculate on the international currency market.

Basically, the time between food stamps reaching people and the time the money gets into the economy is about as long as it takes the recipients to get to the grocery store.

This makes food stamps an especially effective strategy if you’re trying to stimulate an economy to ward off a recession.

Plus – and this is useful even if it’s not in the Federal Reserve statistics – some folks at the bottom of the food chain get some more to eat.

In negotiations between the Bush administration and House Democrats and Republicans, Republicans dropped demands for extending the Bush tax cuts in exchange for making sure that no particular help went to low-income Americans, such as extending unemployment benefits – even though that’s usually the first thing government does in a recession.

That, or a short-term food stamp boost.

On Tuesday, the measure, consisting mostly of tax rebates, passed the House overwhelmingly.

But last week, Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office, told a Senate committee the fastest economic impact came from low-income benefits. “Food stamp and unemployment benefits can affect spending in two months,” said Orszag. “Rebates would affect spending at the end of 2008.”

Large numbers of economists seem to agree with him – not to mention some senators.

Last Friday, 17 senators signed a letter written by Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., urging the Senate leadership “to include a significant increase for food stamp benefits for current recipients in the final passage.” They noted that not only would $2 billion more in food stamps move through the system faster, but also the Senate has already recognized the need for food stamp help in the new farm bill – except, in standard Senate procedure, that bill seems to be planted.

Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who signed the letter, says, “I’m really hopeful we can get that. This provides a high-dollar benefit to the economy.”

Meanwhile, the Bush White House, riding its reputation for uncanny economic management, warns the Senate not to touch the package.

“The president once again wants to say that if you take more than three minutes to think about it, that’s irresponsible,” says Wyden. “But coming off 15 town meetings, (I know) people really want to see the maximum impact from this.”

Far from the offices where economists devise their graphs and models, the people on the front lines against hunger are hoping for an impact, too.

Maura Daly of America’s Second Harvest, a national organization of food banks, says some of her client agencies are reporting “dramatic increases in the number of people coming to our doors,” including some increases over 30 percent.

People losing their homes have to eat somewhere.

And a temporary food stamp boost would also reach low-income people, including seniors living on Social Security, left out of the House package. When you’re trying to fight off a recession, you might want to include the people who feel the recession first.

As the old proverb says:

Starve a cold, feed a recession.