Octomom tried her best to avoid going on welfare, but she says "becoming totally destitute" forced her hand ... temporarily.
As TMZ first reported, Nadya is getting $2,000 a month from the State of California, which can only be used on food.
We spoke to her at her home today, where the mother of 14 said she's hoping she only needs the assistance for a month of two at the most.
Octo has been receiving death threats since the news of her welfare broke, but she feels people should be directing their anger towards those who are abusing the system and not at her.
Plus if she doesn't get some help, we might see more pics like these. Lesser of two evils ...