The number of Pennsylvania households requiring emergency provisions from food pantries increased for the fourth consecutive year, according to a survey released yesterday by the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center.

The survey of about 1,250 pantries statewide revealed that an average of 140 households per site sought help during March. That was a 27 percent increase in households from 2002.

Berry Friesen, executive director of Hunger Action, said he expected the numbers to increase as rising fuel costs leave low-income families and those on fixed wages with less money for food.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2004 national assessment of food security, the most recent data available, estimated that 1.4 million Pennsylvanians were living at risk of hunger. That included 336,000 people living in households where someone experienced hunger.

The USDA defines food security as having access at all times to enough food "for an active, healthy life for all household members."

Nationally, the USDA estimated that 38.2 million people were food insecure in 2004, including 13.9 million children. The latter number included 545,000 children living in households classified as "food insecure with hunger among children."