Food-stamp use rose 1.8% in the U.S. in January from a year earlier, with 15% of the U.S. population receiving benefits.

One of the federal government's biggest social welfare programs, which expanded when the economy convulsed, isn't shrinking back alongside the recovery, the Journal reported last month.

Food stamp rolls increased on a year-over-year basis, but were 1.1% lower from the prior month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported. Though annual growth continues, the pace has slowed since the depths of the recession.