Ouch!! I hear ya. When I was laid off, I refused those and it killed our savings but we avoided the food stamps. But I have no issues for things such as your case. That's what food stamps SHOULD be for.
Hey, one thing that might help, if you have a porch, get a couple flower pots and plant some tomatoes and peppers, get the seeds for a buck but out there, they'd produce. Might not make a huge dent in your food expense but it'd help