A top state think tank Monday put a grim human toll on the financial crisis: As the state and national economies worsen, the number of families needing government help to survive is burgeoning.

According to a first-ever study released by the nonpartisan California Budget Project, state residents are turning to public assistance in dramatic numbers. With unemployment at a 14-year high, the number of food stamp recipients has quadrupled in the last year. Welfare rolls that shed more than 500 families a month in 2007 now serve 2,240 new families each month. And tens of thousands are turning to government-funded health care following job losses and a decline in employer-sponsored benefits.

Andrea, a 30-year-old injured military veteran whose unemployment benefits just ran out, left the Sacred Heart Community Service agency with a turkey, an odd assortment of canned goods and a tub of sour cream. It will have to last, she said. A job she had lined up at a community college fell through due to budget cuts, and with a rise in prices, her food stamps don't stretch too far.

"I've given up on trying to eat every day," said Andrea, who asked that her last name not be used because she fled an abusive spouse. "I want to make sure what we have lasts for my daughter."