When Amanda McCormack picks up hamburger, eggs, green beans and milk at the Milford Supermarket, she buys it with her SNAP card.

That's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Amanda and her husband Justin are out of work, so the federal food stamp program is the only way they can feed their family of five.

McCormack is part of a growing number of Nebraskans who buy at least part of their groceries with a SNAP card.

One in every nine Nebraskans used the program in June.

That's almost 27,000 more than were using SNAP a year ago, and about 44,000 more than two years ago.

That growth over the past two years is one indicator of the recession.

But there is some good news in the spring SNAP numbers.

The program is still growing, but not nearly as fast as in earlier months.

The number of individuals using the program actually dropped in June, though the number of households involved was slightly higher than May.

And the increase in the number of people using SNAP this spring is measured in the hundreds, rather than the thousands of previous months.

The numbers reflect the effect of the recession, said Kate Bolz, research and policy coordinator for Nebraska Appleseed.

In fact, SNAP is designed to be counter cyclical - to rise when the economy falters and drop when the economy is humming along, she said.

SNAP helps families and helps stabilize the economy, she said. It provides access to food for families who are struggling and business to grocers.

And Nebraska's numbers reflect the national trend.

In January, Nebraska's annual growth, 26 percent, put us in the middle of states. Nevada was first, with a 46.9 percent growth and Missouri saw a 10 percent drop in SNAP usage.

Though the recession has dramatically increased the number of families using SNAP, the program has always been a core element of the nation's anti-poverty program.

The program provides money for food based on family income, ranging from a few dollars a month to hundreds of dollars.

For example, a family of four is eligible for some help if the gross family income is not over $2,389 a month.

A very low-income family of four would receive $668 in SNAP benefits a month.

McCormack said she and her husband have periodically used food stamps, even when they were working, because they couldn't support their family with the wages from fast food restaurants.

Sometimes the help was minimal, just $100 or less a month, she said.

It's difficult finding a job where you can be self-sufficient, she said.

But that is her goal.

McCormack is volunteering at Lincoln's Center for People in Need and working on a business management program at Kaplan University, hoping to improve her job skills and her wages.

And her husband, she said, is looking for work.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 402-473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.