"Well, food stamps enabled my mom and I to eat without having to ask for hand-outs. There were times when I was growing up when we literally didn't have $10 to our name, so food stamps kept us fed when we were completely broke."

"When my father was diagnosed with MS and had to stop working, it was food stamps that helped my family keep our heads above the water and put food on the table while my mom looked for work. This critical government support was there for my family and millions of families just like ours when we needed it most, and I am proud to fight every day to make sure it is there for struggling families across the country who need that helping hand while they work to get back on their feet."

"I had a single mother, 3 siblings, and in hard times Food Stamps were so helpful. I never felt embarrassed. I was young and I didn't give it a second thought. Not only that — it seemed like everyone else had them too. People of all colors presented them at check out. Mom eventually got on her feet, and didn’t need them anymore."

"I was raised as one of twelve children on a small family farm in Colorado. When my father left our family, I was 13 years old. My mother went on food stamps for a year, until she found work as a bookkeeper. Those food stamps were a lifeline for us. I do not know what we would have done otherwise."

BIO:

Bill Ritter Jr. is currently the Director of the Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) at Colorado State University. The Center started February 1, 2011 with Ritter as the founding Director. In addition to the Director, the Center employs an Assistant Director, three Senior Policy Advisors, and an Executive Assistant.

The Center works directly with governors, legislators, regulators, planners, policymakers, and other decision makers, providing technical assistance to help them create the policies and practices that will facilitate America’s transition to a clean-energy economy. Ritter is a member of the Board of the Directors of the Energy Foundation; and also a Senior Fellow and member of the Board of Directors of the Advanced Energy Economy Institute.

Ritter was elected as Colorado's 41st governor in 2006. Ritter led Colorado forward by bringing people together to tackle some of our state's biggest challenges. During his 4 year term, Ritter established Colorado as a national and international leader in clean energy by building a New Energy Economy. As a result of that work, Colorado created thousands of new jobs and established hundreds of new companies. Ritter also enacted an aggressive business-development and job-creation agenda that was focused on knowledge-based industries of the future, such as energy, aerospace, biosciences, information technology and tourism.

Ritter served as Denver's District Attorney from 1993 to January 2005.

He earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Colorado State University (1978) and his law degree from the University of Colorado (1981).

Ritter is married to Jeannie, and before his serving as District Attorney, he and Jeannie operated a food distribution and nutrition center in Zambia. They have four children; August, Abe, Sam, and Tally.

"As a college student and a young single mother of two boys, I relied on foods stamps to provide for my family while I struggled to make a better life for my children. Food Stamps were the bridge over troubled water that allowed me to become a business owner, congressional staffer, a California legislator and now a member of Congress. This is why I will continue to fight to preserve this critical lifeline for those striving to be in the middle class and work to protect the American dream for all."

"My mom did the best she could in providing for me, my brother and sister. Because we lived in poverty, we relied on food stamps to get us through the difficult days. I’m forever grateful for the generosity of this country."

BIO:

Hector Balderas was raised by a single mother in the small village of Wagon Mound, New Mexico. Growing up in public housing and on food stamps, he learned the importance of compassion and respect, and gained the conviction that everyone — no matter their background — deserves the same opportunities to succeed.

In 2006, at the age of 33, Balderas was elected New Mexico State Auditor. At the time of his election, he became America’s youngest Hispanic statewide elected official. Balderas was reelected to office in November 2010. As New Mexico’s State Auditor, he has pursued an aggressive agenda designed to protect taxpayer funds and hold government agencies accountable. As a result, his audits and investigations have exposed financial mismanagement and corruption at various levels of government.

In 2010, he was awarded the New Frontier Award by the Harvard Institute of Politics and John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. The annual award is given to Americans whose contributions in elective office or community service demonstrate the impact and value of public service in the spirit of John F. Kennedy.

Balderas served in the New Mexico House of Representatives from 2005 to 2007.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from New Mexico Highlands University and his law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in New Mexico and is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Balderas lives in Albuquerque with his wife Denise and their three children, Hector Reyes Jr., Mariola, and Arianna.

"I'm not embarrassed to have been on Food Stamps during one of the toughest times in my life. I had to feed my young kids after a divorce and during unemployment, when the recession was in full swing. That helped me have the energy and the mindset to forge ahead and get back on my feet. Eventually, with hard work and determination I reinvented myself and achieved greater professional and personal success than ever before. And I'm not done yet!"

“My family worked incredibly hard to make ends meet under difficult circumstances. My father had been injured on the job and was retraining for a new line of work, and he and my mother were both working as many jobs as they could to keep their family of three children afloat. It wasn’t enough to keep us all fed and sheltered, and so for, a time, we were on assistance. I associate that time with two emotions—shame and hope. There is no emotion more devastating than shame and nothing more powerful than hope. It is hope that continues to define me today"

"I didn't go hungry as a child thanks to SNAP. I was able to have food to eat so I could be healthy and do well in school. I recently became the Executive Director of the San Diego Hunger Coalition where I have the chance to pay forward the help my family received. Being poor doesn't mean someone must be hungry, and SNAP is a vital and irreplaceable part of protecting people of all ages against hunger."

"As a teen mom, having my son at the age of 18 during my first semester in college, I had no idea how to juggle being a full-time mom, a full-time student, and working enough hours to take care of all the needs of my child. The assistance of foodstamps and SNAP benefits allowed me to put my son in daycare centers while I attended school, feed my son and provide a roof over our heads since my hours of working were limited. In Dec. 2010, I earned my Master's Degree in Information Assurance, becoming the first person in my family to do so! I am currently gold medalist for Team USA women's national football team and consider myself as successful, but if it were not for receiving the foodstamps and SNAP benefits starting out, I wouldn't have achieved any of my accomplishments or been able to give my son the life he deserves."

BIO:

Many people know me as a girl that's full of smiles, laughter, and joy. Believe me, I've definitely had my walk through life!!

Although I had my son at the age of 18, I didn't let this stop me from reaching my life goals! Instead, this helped push me even more. I chose the path of a Computer Scientist/Info Sec Specialist with IBM because I refused to be another statistic. When I told my mother I was pregnant, she lost all hope of me going to college to play soccer (she even brought home some boxes so I would move out), but I pressed on and went on to not only play soccer for Old Dominion University and graduate with a Computer Science degree, I am now an Info Security Specialist by day, a professional tackle football player by night, and a proud mommy 24/7! Some would say I wear an 'S' on my chest and call me 'Super Mommy', but this is my life! My son is my #1 fan and my mom is a proud parent!

The hardest part of getting to where I am, was the challenge of being able to juggle being a full-time single parent, a full-time student, and manage to play soccer for Old Dominion University. Not only did I have these things to juggle, I also had to worry about how I would make ends meet. When my son was about 2yrs old, his father told me that he got me pregnant on purpose because he didn't want me to leave him and go to college. A lot of people think it's the woman’s fault and they do this to trap the guy, but not in my case. Studies have shown that most teen moms grow up to be on poverty, but I refused to be another statistic.

In college, I received TANF, food stamps, WIC, Medicaid and daycare assistance to get by, which helped tremendously. I also received money back from the university to help with rent. On several occasions I stayed up all night while my son was asleep to complete homework! No matter what the weather I pressed on and graduated in 2003!

In 2007, my rookie year of football, one of my biggest supporters, my dad, passed away out of the blue from a heart attack. He attended all of my games and was the loudest person in the stands. He was at my football game one day and gone forever a few days later. Because my son and so many other people look to me for a smile, coping with this loss while simultaneously maintaining my happiness has been the biggest challenge thus far!

My main motivation is my son and the fact that I refuse to be another statistic. So many young girls in the world get pregnant and not know which way to turn. I want to be a role model for them and show them that the sky is the limit! Whatever it is that your heart desires in life, you CAN and will get it. It's not going to be easy, but when there's a will there's a way. As long as you have faith and God on your side anything is possible. My number one priority as a single mom is to show my son that he needs to strive for more in life, more than high school, more than a Bachelors. In Dec. 2010, I earned my Master's Degree in Information Assurance, becoming the first person in my family to do so!

During my journey, I have hit rock bottom and now I'm on my way to the top! After graduating from ODU, I moved to Atlanta to begin my career. I was there for 3 months and could not find a job. I took on a role as a nanny for my cousin's 2 young girls making about $25 a week or so, and my mother helped out and paid my rent. The interesting thing about my journey is that my lowest point was the turning point of my life. I lost all of my government assistance, TANF, food stamps, Medicaid, and daycare assistance all in the same day because of a mistake on their part. This same day I went to a job fair and almost got killed by a random person who chased me up the street as I was walking towards the job fair building and literally threatened to take my life. A few days later I had a message on the answering machine from the recruiter I interviewed with at the job fair giving me a job offer. This was the start of my career and the next message was a message stating that I would be getting back all of my government assistance.

I have recently reached my 2 year anniversary working for IBM and finished my 4th season with the Divas as the teams leading rusher as well as the league's leading rusher. The hard work and determination is definitely paying off! I am extremely excited and proud to say that I was selected as one of the top athletes in the country to be a running back for the first ever Team USA Women's National Tackle Football team. This past June we won the gold medal in the first ever international women's tackle football tournament hosted by IFAF in Stockholm, Sweden!!! We played 5 other countries, including Germany, Finland, Sweden, Austria, and Canada and brought home the GOLD!!!! This is history in the making and I'm so blessed to be a part of it!!!

Being able to play football professionally as a female is a great accomplishment for me personally and for women in general. There have been so many barriers that we've had to overcome throughout history. The only downfall is that it is a lot of work playing tackle football, and yet no one really knows about us. There are so many young girls out there who can benefit from the women in the league and be encouraged by us. Unlike the men in the NFL with the million dollar contracts, we actually have to pay to play a sport that we love, yet we do the same thing as them and work just as hard if not harder, plus we have our motherly duties added on top of this.

Perseverance and determination are what keep me going. I have been told that I can be stubborn when it comes to things, but it is because of this determination that I have been able to overcome all of the obstacles that I have faced in life and press on to reaching my goals. My goal as a child was to play soccer in college, and I did whatever it took to reach this goal. My goal in college was to be on someone’s USA team, but I thought it would be for soccer! Now I'm reaching for bigger things, I'm going to start my own company and foundation, and help other teen moms achieve their goals as well! This season I plan on sponsoring a group of kids from my hometown, Charlottesville, Va, to come up to DC to watch one of my games and take a tour of DC (most of the kids there never get the chance to visit any place else). I always tell people to 'Reach for the stars, and when you get there reach higher.' Nothing can stop you from reaching your goals but yourself! Right after I had my son I did some motivational speaking for the Teen Health Department to help motivate and enlighten young girls & boys and I continue to do this every day, coaching in NFL Play 60 clinics, coaching my son’s soccer and football teams, and volunteering throughout the community. In 2008, I received an inaugural Game Changer award with other athletes including Shawn Merriman and Vernon Davis to name a few, for being a game changer on and off the field.

If there is anything you want to do in life, whether it is play football, a sport that people always told girls they could not play, don't let anyone stop you! Go get it, claim it, it's yours! Although I am proof that it is possible to beat the odds and not be a statistic of just another young black mother on welfare, I try to encourage abstinence. It's definitely not impossible, but when I look back and try to figure out how I did it, I can only point to the Lord above! If someone gets pregnant at a young age, at least they can look to me and know that there is hope. When I got pregnant, I had the choice of abortion, but one of my best friends told me 'God will never put anything on you that you can't handle.'

"My mom did everything she could to raise my brother, sister and I, but sometimes there wasn't enough money to go around.The free and reduced lunch programs at my school made sure that my siblings and I had a nutritious meal that my mom could not always afford herself, and gave me the energy I needed to learn in school and participate in sports!"

"Food Stamps and Public Assistance contributed to my success because it taught me the importance of decision-making and how to work hard to overcome obstacles. While on public assistance I experienced feelings of being inferior to others and at the same time, I experienced an internal motivation to do better in my adult life as a result of understanding what it meant to struggle and be judged. The decision-making came from watching my mom figure out how to make what had been provided for us, last. Adversity creates strength and thanks to public assistance, I was able to have my basic needs met while I dreamed of becoming something greater and put in the hours needed to pursue my purpose here on Earth; making a difference in the lives of children so that they, too, can rise above life's many challenges and give back themselves."

"I don't remember being hungry as a kid or the lack of funds impeding my health, keeping me from excelling in school, and ultimately, graduating magna cum laude from an Ivy League. That's because of SNAP. Isn't that a GOOD thing?"

"I was once a food stamps worker, so when I needed help, applying for food stamps was a no-brainer. It helps hungry people and is a great investment in our food economy, allowing recipients to participate as consumers while feeding their families. I was and am a human rights advocate. At the time, I was organizing people to oppose racial violence in a city where hate crime statistics were soaring. The work paid very little, but I could make ends meet because of food stamps. I'm now more than 30 years into a career in human rights. It's a career I built through experience, without the benefit of a college degree. I was able to gain that experience in no small part because of the help I received from food stamps. Over the years I've been the Executive Director of two philanthropic foundations, and a community organizer in communities as diverse as rural Appalachia and urban Washington, D.C. Today, I'm a Senior Partner in a racial justice institute called ChangeLab and a grateful food stamps alum."

"Being a food activist, I know a lot about food. Knowing all that I knew about the food system was not enough when it was time to feed my children. What helped was access to SNAP benefits."

BIO:

LaDonna Redmond joined the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in 2011 as the Senior Program Associate in Food and Justice. A long-time community activist, she has successfully worked to get Chicago Public Schools to evaluate junk food, launched urban agriculture projects, started a community grocery store, and worked on federal farm policy to expand access to healthy food in low-income communities. In 2009, she was one of 25 citizen and business leaders named a Responsibility Pioneer by Time Magazine. In 2007, she was awarded a Green For All Fellowship. LaDonna was also a 2003-2005 IATP Food and Society Fellow. Redmond is a frequently invited speaker, and currently hosts the weekly Monday evening radio program "It's Your Health" on 89.9 KMOJ, The People's Station. LaDonna attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. LaDonna attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

"I went on food assistance in 1994. As a single mother of 2, I realized the only way out of the cycle of generational poverty into which I had been born was to go college. At the age of 25, I began my B.A. in English literature. Like most people on assistance, I worked the equivalent of full time hours, but even though I worked three part time jobs, I would not have been able to get through my undergraduate degree without food assistance. After I finished my B.A., I went on for my Master’s degree, and then my Ph.D. and am now a tenure-track professor of Early Modern Lit. And Culture at the University of Cincinnati. Even with the help I received from family and friends, even with the encouragement and the examples provided by my professors, I would never have been able to get through my bachelor’s degree and off of minimum wage without food assistance. I am eternally grateful for our country’s food assistance and aid programs."

"As a teen mom, I turned to SNAP benefits to help me provide nutritional food to my daughter. Asking for help was not easy for me and I never thought I would be on food stamps. I didn’t want the services, but I needed them."

"I was a successful attorney for nearly 30 years, able to provide my daughter with a better life and a college education. I know I would not have been able to accomplish these things without the food assistance I received."

"By providing welfare and food stamps when I was a child, I believe the taxpayers were investing in my future. I believe I turned out to be a good investment."

"Food stamps gave me hope: That I was going to get through that rough patch; that it was, in fact, a rough patch and not the ret of my life; that even if I was ashamed to ask for help, at least someone -even the government-could provide when I did. IN a way, food stamps are like Kick-starter for poor people; they provide proof that you, and your health are worth something. Healthy food was the most important thing I got from SNAP, but the validation was a close second."

BIO:

A working-class transplant from rural Michigan, Brooklyn-based writer Tracie McMillan is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table. Mixing immersive reporting, undercover investigative techniques and "moving first-person narrative" (Wall Street Journal), McMillan's book argues for thinking of fresh, healthy food as a public and social good—a stance that inspired The New York Times to call her "a voice the food world needs" and Rush Limbaugh to single her out as an "overeducated" "authorette" and her work as "evidence of a massive forthcoming event to take away our liberty." In 2012, Whole Living magazine named her a "Food Visionary," building on her numerous appearances on radio and television programs, which range from the liberal The Rachel Maddow Show to the "tea-party favorite" Peter Schiff Show. She has won numerous awards for her writing about food and class in a variety of publications, including The New York Times, the Washington Post, O, The Oprah Magazine, Harper's Magazine, Saveur, and Slate.