NEW YORK (

MainStreet

) -- The number of Americans relying on food stamps dropped by more than 200,000 in June, marking the first month-over-month decline since October 2008, government data show.

In total, 45,183,931 people collected food stamps in June, down from the 45,410,683 who did so the month before, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The average monthly benefits collected through the program also dipped slightly to $133.67 in June, compared with $134.80 in May.

Food stamp use dropped by more than 200,000 in June, but is still near a record high.

Even with this modest decline, food stamp use remains near an all-time high and well above pre-recession levels. More than 27 million Americans collected food stamps in December 2007 -- the month the recession officially began.

In fact, the picture is much bleaker than the June food stamp data suggests when viewed on a state-by-state level. All but 10 states experienced an increase in the number of people on food stamps in June, with several states including Delaware, Massachusetts and Arizona seeing an increase of roughly 2%.

The sudden reversal from record high use of food stamps can be attributed to Alabama, where use dropped by more than a third, or roughly 540,000 people, due to an uncommon spike in demand the previous month as tornadoes whipped through the state and forced thousands to temporarily rely on government assistance to get by. Since then, the situation in Alabama seems to have improved significantly, but for the country as a whole, food stamp use remains one more sign of the troubling economic situation.

>To submit a news tip, email:

tips@thestreet.com

.

Follow TheStreet.com on

Twitter

and become a fan on

Facebook.