I receive $200 a month in food stamp benefits.
I'm full-time a graduate student. Food stamps are just one of several ways that I support myself. I saved a little bit of money from my previous job, I found a new job on campus, and I have taken out student loans. I also began college with nearly $10,000 in an education award, which I earned through two years of full-time community service. I have since used this award to pay tuition and pay down some of my student loan debt.
I am proud to be on food stamps, because it's a part of my story, and it's part of how I've gotten to where I am today. It's not my only strategy, but it is an integral part of my life experience over the last several years.
In a year, I will have received my professional graduate degree, and in an economy at this level or better, I will begin earning a far greater wage than I ever have. And within a few years, through income and sales taxes, I will have paid far more into the system than I have taken out. And I will be happy to pay much, much more into the system, in order to make make a social investment, and help people who need it.
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