I have to agree that there's a lot to this story that doesn't ring true. I myself was broke and unemployed for several months last year, and I discovered that even as a single white male, I was eligible for $400 a month in food stamps. I didn't take the money, and instead I ate at a homeless shelter (which doesn't make me feel good, either) for free.
There's much in this story that smacks of a Jason Blair School of Journalism Production.