‘Octomom’ Receives Food Stamps for 14 Kids

The infamous story of the 'Octomom' has gotten more attention this week because of reports that she is receiving food stamps to take care of her 14 children. Nadya Suleman grew to fame after giving birth to octuplets. She voiced her feelings about the program to NBC's Today show and made some comments that really angered those who work with food banks.

"I still a working as hard as I possibly can to support them," she said on the show. "I made the call reluctantly. I feel ashamed, but who cares how I feel? It's 100% about my children."

The problem is that many feel Suleman shouldn't feel ashamed. There are over 45 million Americans who have received food stamps. It may be about her children, but it's also about a national effort to end hunger. Suleman had six children before she gave birth to the octuplets in January 2009, and she receives $2,000 in food stamps while living in California over a two-month period. Suleman had made a vow to not accept public assistance.

However, while the message she's sending is mixed, it's clear that Suleman wants to depend on herself and show that she can take of her children without help. Getting food stamps allow families to afford groceries on a meager budget provided by the government, usually not $2,000. Suleman's financial troubles are a lot like other families in the U.S. and unlike Suleman, there's no television show that gives them a voice on the hunger issues facing Americans.

Suleman is facing a foreclosure on her home in La Habra in Orange County. However, the foreclosure was postponed according to the Los Angeles Times, and also according to her attorney that were made to the City News service. Suleman is thinking of creating an online venture to help with her issues called "Octomom TV" and working with "Dial-A-Star" to allow people to talk to a "real celebrity." The income from her new movie Millennium will also help. So how is Suleman even able to get food stamps as a "real celebrity?"

For someone who has posed topless for a British men' magazine for $8,000 and who also has turned down offers to do pornography, she claims that her "deeply indoctrinated morals and values" keep her from taking advantage. Previously, Suleman was worrying that California authorities would take her children away, but she is now getting help to take care of her kids and hopefully prevent that from ever happening.

It's still astonishing that someone who is considered a celebrity is also accepting $2,000 in food stamps. California's asset limits are just as strict as other states, so she must have very little property and live on a meager income to qualify for such a large amount of aid. House and land property also does not count towards a person's eligibility. Soon, Suleman hopes to get off food stamps and earn a long-term income. For other aid recipients, working for "Dial-A-Star" and starting their own businesses just won't happen. They rely on public assistance and food banks, and it shouldn't be criticized as "shameful" by a celebrity, who could have really been a voice of advocacy for the hunger issues facing American families.