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	Photo by Skip Lawrence Katrina Thorpe holds her baby Nevaeh Butler, 1, as she talks about food stamps in front of the Frederick Community Action Agency Food Bank on Tuesday.

Two-year-old Antonio Butler knows enough to play peek-a-boo with passersby now that he is making the trip more often with mom, Katrina Thorpe. As food prices rise, her $382 in monthly food stamps doesn't last as long as it used to.

"My kids love fruit," she said, as family members helped load bags of food into a waiting car.

But the price of fruits, vegetables and milk, items Thorpe wants in her children's diet, make them nearly cost prohibitive when she uses her allotment of food stamps at the grocery store.

The price of dairy foods was up 8.1 percent in July compared to a year ago; fruits and vegetables were up 10.1 percent.

Thorpe, 21, and her three children are among 8,681 others who received food stamps in Frederick County last month. In July 2007, about 1,300 fewer people received food stamp assistance, according to state data.

This summer Thorpe, who is expecting another child in September, said she is visiting the food bank twice a month compared to the three or four times she needed its help in all of last year.

Food stamp usage has reached an unprecedented level statewide and allotments are not keeping pace with the price of food. In the past year, the number of food stamp participants in Maryland increased by 50,000 to 372,695.

In Frederick County, the total amount of food stamp payments increased by nearly $1.5 million from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2008, which ended June 30.

"We've seen about a 9 to 10 percent increase in our caseload over the past year," said Christine Bickle, assistant director of the county Department of Social Services.

The food stamp program is administered through the county but entirely funded by the federal government.

Bickle said the payments, based on income and family size, will be adjusted starting Oct. 1.

But not by much.

An individual making the maximum monthly income of $1,107 will have his or her food stamp allotment increase from $10 to $14 a month.

The current maximum allotment is $162 per month for a single person, based on an income of near zero.

"I would say certainly the overall economy is affecting people who would maybe make it on their own and are reluctant to apply," Bickle said.

Population increase is also a reason why the number of food stamp participants have increased in recent years, she said.

The number is expected to continue to increase. New guidelines will make food stamps available to more people, said Kimberly Chin, director of Maryland Hunger Solutions.

College savings, retirement funds and other assets will not count as income when the federal requirements are changed Oct. 1, said Chin, whose program is an initiative of the Food Research and Action Center.

"If you have huge childcare expenses, that's going to bring your income down," Chin said.

Still, the maximum food stamp benefit of $542 for a family of four is falling short by $46.20 every month, according to the Food Research and Action Center.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture this year will invest more than $10.3 billion in nutrition programs, including food stamps. The average food stamp participant is a single, working mother of two children receiving $37 per week, according to the USDA.

Mike Spurrier, director of the Frederick Community Action Agency, said some of those eligible for food stamps don't apply for the program because of the small payments.

"They tell you food stamps aren't supposed to cover your entire budget," he said.

The increased demand has made the Frederick food bank's expected summer shortage, caused by a seasonal lull in donations, even worse, Spurrier said.

The agency received a $3,000 donation from the Ausherman Foundation this week to help carry it through to the holiday donation season, he said.

Sholanda Williams, a single mother of three children ages 7 to 12, said she is grateful the food bank is there to bolster the $252 in food stamps she gets each month. The food stamps usually last two weeks, she said.

The money she does get has to be used efficiently and involves combing sale advertisements and coupons. The start of school for her three children will likely relieve some of the pressure, as they will be fed breakfast and lunch at their schools.

"All we have to worry about now is dinner," she said.