These days, the $205 in food stamps that Saydee Waterson receives each month pays for little more than a week-and-a-half worth of food. "You can't get a lot of snacks for kids anymore," said Waterson, who is thankful that her 14-month-old son no longer depends on costly baby formula.

The family's monthly food stamp allotment - which helps pay for food for Waterson, her son and her grandfather - "has got to stretch even more now," said Waterson, of Chichester.

If you've done any grocery shopping recently, the fact that food prices are surging won't come as a surprise. Nationally, the cost of food purchased to eat at home increased nearly 6 percent from May 2007 to May of this year, according to the Consumer Price Index, which measures the change in prices of certain goods and services. For some items, the rise was even starker: In the Northeast, for example, the price of a pound of white flour grew more than 50 percent from May 2007 to May of this year, according to the index.

But while food prices continue an upward climb, the maximum allotments for the federal food stamp program haven't changed since October and won't go up again until this coming fall. As a result, recipients are finding that their food stamp dollars aren't stretching as far as they once did.

That upward trend may continue, fears John Dumais, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Grocers Association. "In the past 10 years, food prices have risen an average of 2 percent a year, and this year, we see a 4 percent to 5 percent increase happening," he said. "There will be a substantial increase in the cost of food for some time to come."

The federal government adjusts food stamp allocations every June, and the changes go into effect in October, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The amount a client receives depends on various factors, including income, assets and the size of a household. Monthly allotments go to recipients' electronic cards, which they use to purchase groceries. Food stamps can't be used for alcohol, medicine, hot food or any food that will be consumed in the store.

The maximum food stamp allotments are based on the so-called Thrifty Food Plan, which is essentially what the federal government deems the price tag for a low-cost, nutritious diet. Officials craft that plan to meet the National Academy of Science's recommended dietary allowances and to reflect the food choices of low-income individuals, according to the USDA.

Currently, the monthly maximum food stamp allocation for a family of four is $542, which was the amount the government decided an inexpensive diet for a family that size should cost in June 2007.

Since June of last year, however, the price tag for a low-cost diet has climbed, to $576 monthly for a family of four in April, the most recent month for which data is available. Although the government now deems the price of a low-cost diet for a family of four to be $34 a month more than the current maximum food stamp allotment, it will be another three months before food stamp allocations rise.

The farm bill, which Congress recently passed over President Bush's veto, will also change some portions of the food stamp program, including raising the minimum food stamp allotment.

Food stamp recipients have found various ways to cope with rising food prices.

Some, such as Peter Rice, pay even more attention to coupon-clipping and sales. He retrieves coupons from newspapers at the library and steers clear of name brands.

"Only get stuff that you need, don't get snacks," said Rice, who is from western Massachusetts and has been using his Massachusetts food stamps in recent weeks in New Hampshire. "If you're going to go shopping, just go shopping smart."

Money-conscious consumers - whether receiving food stamps or not - have been searching for ways to curtail their grocery costs. "They're shifting what they're buying within grocery stores," said Brian Gottlob, principal of PolEcon Research in Dover. "In our household, we clip coupons more, we buy brands that are on sale; you buy things that are at the lower unit cost."

When gas prices go up - as they have in recent months - consumers generally compensate for that increase by reducing their food budgets, Gottlob said. Because food prices are also rising, lower-income consumers are feeling squeezed from several sides. "There's just tremendous pressure on lower-income households," Gottlob said.