Ruben Gomez never thought that he’d have to go on food stamps. But in 2012, his wife became pregnant, and his cost of living suddenly increased. At the time, he was a student at Miami Dade College in Miami, Fla. He considered dropping out of school and getting two or three jobs to pay the extra bills. “I didn’t want to sign up for welfare. I was prideful,” he says. Pride wasn’t the only reason for his reluctance, though. Gomez also dreaded the laborious and complex sign-up procedures…

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Read more stories by Kathryn Peterson.