Food stamp recipients and community activists proposed a policy review of the federal food stamp program at a Downtown hearing, saying the application procedure needs simplification and benefits need to be increased.

U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, hosted the hearing at One Smithfield St. on Thursday. It was sponsored by Just Harvest to provide elected state officials with a sense of food stamp participants' experiences.

Some recipients recommended increasing the liquid asset limit from $2,000 to $3,000 for families, and from $3,000 to $4,000 for seniors and people with disabilities.

Referring to increased costs of living, some recipients proposed raising the monthly minimum benefit from $10 to $25 and average benefit per meal from its current average of about $1 per person.

Other recommendations included not penalizing able-bodied adults without dependents who are not working if they are actively searching for jobs, providing incentives to buy fruits and vegetables with food stamps, and increasing funding for the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program and Emergency Food Assistance Program.