BY ALFRED LUBRANO

The percentage of households receiving food stamps in Philadelphia increased by nearly 3 percentage points between 2007 and 2008 - the period of time marking the start of the recession - according to figures released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

And that number is only expected to rise, according to Rachel Meeks, food-stamp campaign manager for the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger.

"Numbers are going up pretty dramatically because of the economy," Meeks said yesterday. "People are losing their jobs, or they're losing their hours at work. It's pretty rough out there."

According to the new census data, known as the American Community Survey, Pennsylvania was one of only seven states that recorded an increase in the number and percentage of people in poverty between 2007 and 2008.

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