In the latest sign the economic crisis is deepening in New Jersey, food stamp applications doubled and the number of people seeking welfare rose 40 percent in October compared with the previous year, according to state figures.

Welfare and food stamps don’t stretch very far; food stamps provide an average of $1 a meal per person, and the cash grant from welfare hasn’t been raised since 1987, topping out at $322 a month for a parent with two children. The application processes for both programs have been called cumbersome.

But people continue to flock to the traditional safety net programs as the recession continues, dragging a slice of the middle class with it.

The greatest demand has been for food stamps. Applications more than doubled from 2,234 people in October 2007 to 4,547 people in October 2008, Human Services spokeswoman Suzanne Esterman said.

During roughly the same period, there was a 61 percent spike in the number of people seeking cash assistance through public welfare, known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. In November 2007, 395 people submitted applications, compared with 635 in October 2008, the most recent information available. The highest demand came in July, with 730 people seeking public assistance.

The growing demand for traditional social service programs did not surprise managers of nonprofit emergency food and housing agencies, who have been deluged with requests for help.

New Jersey gives out only about 58 percent of its food stamp allotment because people don’t apply, discouraged by a cumbersome application process. A report by Mathematica Policy Research earlier this month found only 60 percent of the state’s population eligible for food stamps was actually enrolled in 2006 — below the national average of 67 percent.

(Source: NJ Star Ledger)