Food stamp families to critics: Walk in our shoes Some have advanced degrees and remember middle-class lives. Some work selling lingerie or building websites. They are white, black and Hispanic, young and old, homeowners and homeless. What do they have in common? They're all on food stamps. One in seven Americans are on food stamps and the program has become an issue in the Republican presidential primary, with candidates seeking to tie President Barack Obama to the record number of people in it. The Associated Press interviewed recipients around the country and found many who said critics should spend some time in their shoes. Christopher Jenks, of Minneapolis, went on food stamps after losing his sales job and began living in his car. Linda Miles, an Army veteran, says she needs food stamps because she was laid off as a Philadelphia schoolteacher.