MONTGOMERY — Food stamp rolls in Alabama have grown by 65,000 people in the past year, a sign of the tough economic times and the state’s effort to get eligible families to sign up for benefits.

According to state records, nearly one out of seven people in the state are receiving food stamp assistance. The rolls for the Food Assistance Program grew nearly 12 percent, from about 559,360 in November of 2007 to 624,670 a year later.

Nationally, federal officials report that food stamp rolls grew by more than 17 percent from September 2007 to last September.