I ate better for those 7 weeks than I had all my adult
  life to that point.

I'd suggest that today's "food stamps" don't cover as much as they used to. The article does a good job of showing how little nutritious food the handouts can buy.

  Instead of heading in to town to collect our stamps...

Which costs money, particularly if you have to live a fair way outside out of town. Because you're poor.

  But having to use those colored pieces of paper in line
  at the grocery store while everyone else watched was a
  huge motivator to get out and get a job.

People are trying. Pull your head out and look at the economy. You may be fine; plenty aren't, and are stuck in a rut where they can't get out.

I know arguing with you is useless, but it's this "I worked hard, I got mine, so fuck you" attitude that's making everything worse for the poor. Have some empathy.