Jeremy Bible flipped this story into Recipes And Food•3122d
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"I'm a single mum-of-12 - I can't afford them, I have to feed them on coupons"
A single mum-of-12 said she's been forced to rely on food stamps due to the cost of living crisis - and "can't afford" to feed her family without them. Veronica Merritt, 39, says she has to feed her kids macaroni, hot dogs and packet ramen - because now her yearly food bill totals $24k. She says she’s trolled on TikTok for “not being able to afford” her big family by people who say she shouldn’t have had kids in the first place. But she does not regret them and said having babies feels and it's like her "superpower". Veronica, a TikTok creator, from New York, US, said: “I never would’ve had kids if I’d waited until I was rich - I don't regret any of my kids. “I’m trying to take care of my kids as best I can. This month I didn’t have any money, so had to spend $1,400 in food stamps. “It’s impossible to feed 11 people on $1,400 - the prices of everything right now are tight. “I used to feed a family of 12 for $500 a month but now you need $2,000 to $3,000 a month to feed this many people ramen.” Veronica had her first baby Victoria, 24, in March 2000, when she was aged 14, at Crouse hospital in Syracuse, NY. The first 10 kids were with Veronica's first husband, she then went on to marry an old friend and had two more kids. Currently, her brood consists of Victoria, 24, a mum-of-one, Andrew, 19, Adam, 17, Mara, 16, Dash, 14, Darla, 13, Marvelous, 11, Martalya, nine, Amelia, seven, Delilah, five, Donovan, four and Modi, two. She says the family receive help from the government in the form of $1,400 in food stamps each month. "We get $1400 in food stamps which is actually not enough at all, food is so expensive," she said. "I've got help with food stamps on and off over the years." Veronica said she wanted more kids but has to get hysterectomy because of a fibroid, on May 2. "Six boys and six girls is pretty perfect, especially because I colour code and have a boy and girl for every colour," she said. "It's oddly perfect how well it worked out. "If I did want to have more, I'd have to be rich and hire a surrogate. “I was 14 when I had my first, I was really young, and I didn’t really understand how reproduction worked. “I thought you had to be 16 to get pregnant. "I thought, ‘it won’t happen to me’, but it did, pretty much as soon as I was sexually active. “I don't think of kids as accidents. They’re my little surprises." Veronica added: "I really like growing my family. I like having babies. "I thought 'I'm just going to see what nature decides and see what …
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