A controversial TikTok mother from New York revealed how she “can’t afford” to feed her 12 children, struggling to stay afloat amid the cost of living crisis.
Veronica Merritt, 39, claims she receives a one month payment from the government of $1,400 in food stamps, but she says that’s not even enough “because food is so expensive.”
“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,” Merritt said, according to SWNS.
“It’s impossible to feed 11 people on $1,400 — the prices of everything right now are tight. I used to feed my family of 12 for $500 a month but now you need $2,000 to $3,000 a month to feed this many people ramen.
The content creator documents her life on social media, posting videos preparing her kid’s fruit loops, macaroni, and other easy-to-make meals due to her food bill totaling $24,000 a year.
Merrit supports her children Victoria, 24 — who has one child — Andrew, 19, Adam, 17, Mara, 16, Dash, 14, Darla, 13, Marvelous, 11, Martalya, 9, Amelia, 7, Delilah, 5, Donovan, 4, and Modi, who is 2.
“I’m not saying I regret my kids, I’m saying life keeps kicking me while I’m already down. It’s like people see that I have 12 kids and just want me to fail to “punish” me for wanting a family. I wasn’t expecting to be a single mom when I started,” she captioned in a video to her TikTok.
Merrit got pregnant with her first child at 14, admitting she was technically pregnant in just the 8th grade before the single mother kept having children.
Her first dozen children were with her first husband, then she had two more children with her second husband.
@thismadmama #CapCut I tried again and was absolutely shocked by the total. Maybe I should have been doing the math but I didn’t even get that much! #thismadmama #americanShopping #shoppinghaul #walmarthaul #shoppingChallenge
