Food Stamp usage continues to rise

The number of people on Food Stamps continue to rise as show in the chart below with over 46.3 million people now receiving them.  The data is through December 2011.  Keep in mind the budget year for the Government starts on October 1st so the data through December 2011 is for the 1st Quarter of 2012.  If the economy is improving why are more people applying for food stamps?