-- about 31 million -- were using the food stamp program to get by , according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture . More recent numbers are not available , but advocates for the poor say the number of those in need of aid probably has increased since then . Stereotypes associated with food stamps abound , and recipients are often seen as prone to taking handouts , sometimes when they may not be needed . But the profile of hunger in America is multifaceted , as diverse as the nation itself , especially in these times of economic hardship . To get a better idea of what it 's like to live on a food stamp budget , CNN correspondent Sean Callebs has decided to eat for a month on $ 176 and blog about the experience on CNN.com . Watch reporter 's struggle to buy food with food stamps '' That 's a situation many people , Thomas included , can relate to . Thomas , who said he had been working steadily since he was 13 years old , now receives $ 175 per month for food . That 's about $ 5.83 per day -- less
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- As Walter Thomas knows , it 's hard to look for a job when your stomach is rumbling . Samirah , 2 , asked her mom to take this photo to show that hungry people `` are like everyone else . '' The 52-year-old from Washington , D.C. , started skipping meals in early January when his savings account was running dry and his kitchen cabinets were almost empty . Thomas at first did n't want to turn to the United States ' food safety net , the food stamp program , for help . But after being laid off in July from what seemed like a steady job in sales at a furniture store , Thomas swallowed his pride and applied for the monthly food aid . `` It lets me think , ` OK , well , tomorrow I 'll be able to eat . If nothing else , I 'll be able to eat , ' '' he said . With the national economy in meltdown , more Americans than ever are relying on the federal aid program to keep from going hungry . In October , more than one in 10 people