As an increasing number of families find themselves needing financial help, the Mathews County Social Services Department has had to rely more and more on local foundations and individuals to help pay for services.

While Gloucester’s Department of Social Services does not rely as much on private assistance as Mathews does, that agency also receives its share of generous donations from local clubs, organizations and churches.

In Mathews

During the 2011 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 1,413 Mathews adults and children—15.7 percent of the county’s 8,978 residents— participated in the Food Stamp program, now called SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program). This was a 62 percent increase over the average number during the mid-2000s of around 870 recipients. A sudden 15 percent increase in 2008 heralded larger subsequent increases of 22 percent in each of the following two years, while the 1,413 recipients in 2011 represented a...