NEW YORK - February 2, 2011 - Nearly a year and a half into what we are told by the government is an economic recovery, some 43.6 million Amerikans continued to rely on food stamps in November.

More than 14% of the population drew food stamps in November to purchase groceries as high unemployment and muted wage growth crimped budgets. The number of recipients was up 0.9% from October, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.. Compared to a year ago, the number of people receiving food stamps was up 14.2%.

In Washington, D.C. and Mississippi more than a fifth of residents received food stamps - the highest recipient rates of any state.

But demand has grown stronger in the past year in a handful of other states that recorded significant increases on a per capita basis.

In New Mexico, 19.4% of the population tapped into food stamps. That’s up 3.2% points from the same month a year ago, the largest increase for any state. Idaho reported a similar jump: 14% of residents received food stamps, up 3.1% from a year ago. Washington, D.C., Florida, Delaware and Texas all experienced similar year over year increases.