Did the recession ever really end?

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of Americans on food stamps continues to grow—despite claims from government departments that the recession ended during the last quarter of 2009.

There are now a record 40.8 million Americans receiving food stamps, the government reported last Wednesday. Participation has set records for 18 straight months. The news came as the unemployment rate stayed uncomfortably close to a 27-year high.

Bloomberg reports that subsidies for food purchases jumped 19 percent from this time last year and increased 0.9 percent from April. If the rate of increase from April to May holds, there will be an additional 5 million people on the food dole by this time next year.

Currently, one eighth of America’s population relies on food stamps. Don’t try to tell this growing number of people that the recession is over. The reality is that it never really ended, and America is entering a more dangerous phase of the recession.