This is not because children are poor or needy, its because we live under a de facto Socialist economy. Same with Food Stamps. The media cries about how many people are on Food Stamps as if its an indication that the country is living in poverty but the reality is that Obama has opened Food Stamps up to the middle class.
To be honest I know a lot of middle class people who look at the Food Stamp program and see that big food processors and grocery chains lobby so vociferously to keep it growing. So they figure it is actually corporate welfare, and in that case, they should have no qualms about picking up a bit of benefit from it.
A quarter century ago the stigma would have deterred them from even going there.