ALBANY -- Hard economic times, layoffs and rising food and fuel costs are boosting the number of New Yorkers receiving food stamps to nearly 1 million households.

Records and interviews show 1.8 million New Yorkers get help from food stamps to pay for basic groceries. That's up by 30,000 adults and children over the last two years and an increase of more than 500,000 since 2001.

In addition to the economic pressures driving up enrollment, the state has worked over the past five years to make it easier for working poor families to apply for the program, which can provide $200 a month for groceries.

More than 60 percent of recipients are in New York City.

The state's population is just more than 19 million, with about 8 million in New York City.