The economic stimulus is headed for the grocery store.

Starting in April, Maine food stamp recipients will see $5 million more in benefits each month, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a two-fold move to help an increasing number of hungry families and spur hiring, state officials said.

Bob Thibodeau, program manager for Maine’s Food Supplement Program, said the maximum food benefit is going up 13.6 percent nationwide on April 1. In addition, a previous rule that limited the length of time able-bodied adults without dependents could collect is being lifted.

The monthly maximum food benefit for a single person will move from $176 to $200, for a household of three from $463 to $526.

Some 99,000 households, or 190,000 people, receive that assistance in Maine.

“I’ve already contacted the Maine Grocers Association to let them know that there’s going to be that additional money coming in,” Thibodeau said. “Studies have shown for every $5 in extra benefit … the economic result is another $9.30 boost into the economy.”

The Food Supplement Program typically receives an increase to the maximum benefit in the fall, but nothing as big as this, he said. “It’s probably the largest (bump) they’ve received in 20 years.”

State computers have already been programmed to make the switch. Thibodeau said the debit-style benefit cards receive new funds between the 10th and 14th of each month, meaning that money will start to hit the Maine economy in mid-April.

Also from the federal stimulus, an additional $450,000 in one-time funds is being directed at the state for emergency food assistance. Randy Mraz, director of that program, said it will go to soup kitchens and food pantries, divvied by county using a formula that looks at the unemployment rate and people living below the poverty line. He’s planning to order that food – things like frozen chicken, canned meats, orange juice, canned fruit – next week.

“It will make a large difference,” Mraz said. “A couple of years ago that would have been a third of the food we got for the state.”

With more people laid off and others left in lingering job hunts, Mraz said demand at food pantries has “absolutely” been up.

The same is true in the state’s general assistance program, a combination of food and housing help. Maine municipalities gave out $11.5 million last year, according to state program manager Cindy Boyd. Hard figures aren’t available yet for winter, but anecdotally, demand is also up, she said.

“Portland has told me they’re seeing more people; they usually have people waiting in the morning,” she said.

In Lewiston, Director of Social Services Sue Charron said she recorded 718 office visits in January compared to 590 the January before.

“We’re sort of the bridge between the last paycheck and the first unemployment check,” she said. “We’re seeing more new people who we’ve never seen before coming in for general assistance.”

Thibodeau, who said he’s also seeing more people apply for food benefits for the first time, said the new waiver on able-bodied applicants will only apply to residents of York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc and Kennebec counties. The other 12 counties in Maine already had geographic exemptions. Under the old rules, people could only collect benefits for three months over three years, he said. Now, they can collect unlimited months through September 2010.

He expected that to add 5,000 to 6,000 households to the program’s roster.

Maine Grocers Association Executive Director Shelley Doak said Friday that she hadn’t heard of grocers’ plans to hire additional workers because of the extra money, but that it was early still.

“I think the benefit to us, from a business standpoint, is fairly small, but I think the benefit to people who need food assistance is the bigger value here,” Hannaford spokesman Mike Norton said.

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