HELENA -- With hunger a growing problem in Montana, an advocacy group is urging Congress to revise the nation's food stamp program by increasing monthly benefits, giving cost-of-living increases and making it more accessible.

Officials from the Montana Food Bank Network and their counterparts around the country have asked Congress to make these changes as part of the 2007 federal farm bill.

Demand for food stamps is on the rise in Montana. Last year, about 81,500 people, or one out every 12 Montanans, used food stamps to buy groceries each month. That's more than one-third higher than 59,500 people who received food stamps in 2000.

On average, Montana households receive $1.02 per person, per meal, per day, on food stamps. Advocates want to increase that amount.

"We strongly support the food stamp program," said Minkie Medora of Missoula, chair of the Food Policy Council of the Montana Food Bank Network. "It's helped so many thousands of people in Montana."

Kate Bradford of Missoula, the network's advocacy director, said more than half of food stamp recipients work, but they remain locked in poverty.

Similarly, Montanans are picking up emergency supplies of groceries at food banks in record numbers. Their visits to food banks soared by 75 percent, from nearly 405,000 in 2000 to 708,000 last year.

A network survey last year found 46 percent of those using food banks had gone without food or skipped a meal so others could eat or because they had no food.

"We are growing food pantries," said Peggy Grimes of Missoula, executive director of the Montana Food Bank Network. "Our goal is to have a long-term solution, not have people continuing to be in an emergency situation."

Medora praised the work of Montana's congressional delegation for its support for reducing hunger and increasing what she called "food security."

She defined food security as "the ability to access food in a consistent and sustainable manner that also provides enough nutrition for the family and does not require the family to seek emergency services by going to a food pantry or a soup kitchen."

"The problem is, still, many, many Montanans struggle," Medora said. "We need to get to a stage where we don't just keep having more food banks or food pantries created."

They and advocates in other states want to change the to:

n Improve the adequacy of the benefits. The $1.02 per person, per meal, is insufficient for people to get an adequate diet, Medora said, and it needs to be raised.

Nor is the minimum monthly benefit of $10 per person enough, she said. Bradford said some people believe the $10 minimum is so low it isn't worth the hassle of filling out the paperwork. The network favors tripling it to $30 a month, especially for the elderly.

n Stop the erosion of food stamp benefits for families. With inflation, the value of food stamps are shrinking in value. The network asked Congress to speed up implementation of a 2002 provision to provide for yearly cost-of-living increase in benefits.

n Expand eligibility for the program. Some people needing food stamps are ineligible because they are working poor families with savings slightly above what the network calls "outdated" means or resources tests. Medora said seniors should be eligible to apply for food stamps if they meet the income qualifications and their savings should not count against them.

n Reduce barriers to gain access to the program. The network believes the application process is too cumbersome, which is why more than half of the eligible working families and 70 percent of eligible elderly individuals don't participate.

n Keep the focus on the nutrition title in the farm bill on addressing hunger in America. The network believes it's essential for the 2007 farm bill to address the pressing problem of hunger amidst the plenty by strengthening this national program.

U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee writing the new farm bill, supports with the Montana Food Bank Network's recommendations .

"The food stamp program is, unfortunately, needed by a lot of people who don't earn a lot of income to pay for food," Baucus said. "It's basically because our jobs on average don't pay a lot. The goal clearly is to get people off food stamps. We're trying to get more good-paying jobs."

Baucus said the recommendations by anti-hunger groups across the country are costly, with the tab reaching $3.5 billion over five years. Congress is operating under a pay-as-you-go rule, which means to increase the budget in one place requires a cut in the budget elsewhere.

"We're struggling to find dollars for the farm program to pay for increases in all the programs because of the pay-as-you-go rule, but the need is still here," Baucus said. "The eligibility and benefits have not kept up with the time."

Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said he has spent a lot of time working with the Montana Food Bank Network and the Missoula Food Bank and secured some funds for them.

"They make a good argument," Rehberg said. "We're always looking for ways to help those that are truly qualified and in need."

Statistics show there are many more people who qualify for food stamps than who actually apply, he said, attributing some of the disparity to the stigma some people feel about being on the program.

Rehberg supports putting a cost of living raise in the benefits. He said he doesn't want to change the program for people to ''scam'' the system by divesting their assets to children so they can qualify for food stamps, as might happen in some states.

"I don't find that happens in Montana," he said. "We need a fail-safe system to make sure the help is going to the people who really need the help."

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said, "We need to lend a helping hand to Montanans in need. Our goal must be developing a plan that will improve access to the food stamp program, particularly for children, the elderly, the working poor, and our veterans. I think we can do that."