The recent news on Utah's economy conjures a string of mouth-watering adjectives: sizzling, robust, red-hot, hearty.

Even with an expanding economy, job growth and a low unemployment rate, the number of people seeking help with something as basic as food is increasing -- and the problem isn't going away.

The Utah caseload for the federal food stamp program stood at 56,532 in November -- a 72 percent increase since the beginning of the 2001 fiscal year. Over the same period, expenditures increased 111 percent, to $11.6 million from $5.5 million.

That growth in food stamp demand came during a period of economic expansion for the state. The unemployment rate (4.7 percent) and the state's job growth (3.5 percent) in 2005 were both better than the United States at large, according to the 2006 Economic Report to the Governor. Overall wage growth exceeded inflation for the second year in a row.

"The economy is good, but those caseloads aren't going down," said Curt Stewart, spokesman for the state Department of Workforce Services.

The state's unemployment rate is expected to drop even lower over the next two years. Finding work, however, doesn't necessarily mean that there's enough money to feed a household.

Utah ranked fifth in average food insecurity from 2002-04, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A household is food insecure if its members do not always have access to adequate food.

"Recent economic growth has not translated into a substantial improvement in the lives of working Utahns," according to "The State of Working Utah 2005," a report prepared by the advocacy group Utah Issues.

Among other findings, the report documents that wages have stagnated or declined over the last 25 years, particularly at the lower end of the income spectrum.

Even though wages have declined and tend to be lower than in other parts of the country, the cost of living remains comparable, noted Gina Cornia, director of Utahns Against Hunger.

"You can't not pay your rent," she said. The same is often true of health care, car expenses or gas to get to work. The part of the budget that's squeezed the most is food."

Myla Dutton, executive director of Community Action Services, agreed.

"The food budget is the first to go," she said. "We actually use the food bank to prevent homelessness."

Her organization serves Utah, Wasatch and Summit counties and offers many services to low-income people, including help with food, rent and utilities. The past year has witnessed "easily a 10 percent increase" in people seeking help -- people who are "working hard and circling," Dutton said.

"People are working. It's just that there are so many low-paying jobs," she said. "We're very concerned with getting through this winter with an estimated 25 to 30 percent increase in heating costs. People are using their food money to deal with those other bills."

An analysis of state wages by the Economic Policy Institute found that, adjusted for inflation, median wages declined 3.1 percent from 1979 to 2004 -- even as median wages increased in Utah's neighboring states, most of whom have lower rates of food insecurity.

That decline was felt exclusively by low- to middle-income wage earners. Forty percent of the state's workers have seen purchasing power decline, according to the study, while those in the highest 30 percent of incomes saw wages rise -- and the higher the income was to begin with, the more it increased.

Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley, has filed legislation that would raise the state's minimum wage to $7 an hour, or $14,560 a year for a full-time worker. The current minimum wage is $5.15 an hour.

Cornia pointed out that not all of the increase in food assistance is because of low wages. Welfare reform in 1996 made several groups ineligible for food stamp assistance, she said, but some of those populations have been restored since then.

To continue to meet demand for the food stamp program, the state Department of Workforce Services again has asked the Legislature to appropriate $945,000 to cover the costs of determining eligibility.

That same amount has been appropriated as one-time money "with the hope that food cases would decline as the economy has improved," Stewart said. This year, the department will ask that the funds be made a permanent allocation.

The costs of the food stamp program are paid by federal funds, but for determining the eligibility of applicants the state must provide a 50 percent match.

Cornia said her organization will be part of the lobbying for another $300,000 of continued funding for emergency food pantries. She said she's also seeking a sponsor for legislation that would fund the purchase of milk, eggs and cheese for food pantries.

Alan Choate can be reached at 344-2556 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it