Derek

Jeff never imagined he would end up using food stamps - both him and his wife have college degrees. But when the economy fell, so did their small business, and they ended up relying on food stamps to feed their family. Today, Jeff has a great job that allows him to provide for his family. He says food stamps helped get his family back on their feet. "For us, they were a stop-gap measure; they prevented us from falling so deep into poverty that we couldn't get out."

Michelle now works for Treasure Coast Food Bank, in Fort Pierce, FL. Before coming to Treasure Coast however, Michelle had a hard time finding a job. She relied on food stamps to feed her family.

For more than 40 years, Jim worked as a mechanic. When the economy crashed, business stopped. Jim knew he needed to apply for food stamps when after waiting for a customer payment all day - it simply never arrived. Without a cracker in the house he applied for food stamps and is glad he did. He would have had no other way to eat.