The pressures on food stamp administration have never been greater than during the last 6 months when more than 5 million persons were added to the food stamp rolls. primarily due to rising unemployment. In December 1974. over 1.5 million additional recipients came into the program in that 1 month alone. State welfare agencies handled the additional workload through every means possible: increasing their certification staffs. using volunteers and clerical staffs to assist in the certification processthe actual certification must be done by an eligibility workerusing group intake sessions to advise groups of 15 to 20 applicants of what they need to have with them and to assist them in completing the application. and by using prescreening systems operated by community action agencies. migrant councils. or labor unions. These actions substantially reduced the time necessary for the eligibility worker to conduct the actual certification interview with each applicant. Also. as of October 1. 1974. the Federal Government increased payments to 50 percent of all State food stamp program administrative costs. thus providing substantially increased Federal funds for all aspects of State food stamp administration.