The number of Triangle households in the federal food stamp program has risen sharply since 2000, more than doubling in Wake and Orange counties and rising by 90 percent in Durham after holding steady or dropping in the late 1990s.

Part of the increase can be attributed to a rise in population and changes to the food assistance program that allowed more people to participate.

For example, the 401(k) account of a laid-off worker used to be counted as part of a family's reserves, which could not be more than $3,000, said Dean Simpson, program manager for family and children's Medicaid and food stamps in the Wake County Department of Social Services. That has since changed, as have policies on how the value of a car is considered in determining food stamp eligibility and the length of time some adults without children may remain in the program.

But Nancy Coston, the Orange County director of social services, said the sharp increases also could signal a widening gap between the county's haves and have-nots. Orange County has low unemployment but a high cost of living. In addition to households in the food stamp program nearly doubling, the number of Medicaid recipients has gone up about 60 percent in the same period, she said.

"I think this situation is kind of invisible to a lot of people," Coston said. "When you're not in the part of the economy that is impacted, you don't feel it."

Coston said the increased workload has been tough on her staff. Though the federal government provides the money used to purchase food, counties pay for staff to run the program.

Sammy Haithcock, Durham County's director of social services, said rising medical and child care costs also may be cutting into family budgets.

The increase in recipients may not be all bad news.

The state has been working to increase the percentage of eligible households that participate in the program, said Jane Schwartz, the chief of economic services in the state Department of Health and Human Services Division of Social Services. North Carolina's participation rate had lagged behind the national average of roughly 60 percent, but rose from 58 percent in January 2005 to nearly 65 percent at the end of last year.

Schwartz said county social service departments have increased their outreach efforts, providing information about the program at senior centers, health fairs and schools.

"It's filling a need," she said. "For whatever reason, they haven't elected to tap this program, and if they choose to do so, we're glad to have them. We want kids to have full bellies."

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