NEW YORK, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 2 million people in New York state are currently using food stamps, a number that may be on the rise, in yet another sign of a troubled economy, a report in a New York City news website said Thursday.

    The U.S. Food Stamp Program (FSP) is a federal assistance program that provides food to low- and no-income people living in the country.

    FSP benefits are now distributed through ATMs, but for most of its history the program had used paper coupons.

    Difficult financial conditions, layoffs, and rising food and fuel costs are leading to an increase in the number of people using food stamps, according to the report in the www.ny1.com website, a local 24-hour news channel on the web.

    Statistics show that 1.8 million New Yorkers now use food stamps to pay for basic groceries. That is an increase of 30,000 over the last two years, and a jump of more than 50,000 since 2001.

    More than 60 percent of food stamp recipients live in New York City.

    The state has now made it easier for poor working families to apply for the program, which can provide up to 200 dollars a month for groceries.

    FSP benefits are distributed by each state, while the program is administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.