According to a study conducted by the University of California Berkeley Labor Center and University of Illinois, taxpayers spend an estimated $7 billion a year on public aid that supports 52% of fast-food workers.

The programs that are supported by taxpayer money that help these fast-food workers include: Medicaid, food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Only 25% of families in the whole workforce receive assistance from public aid programs. These numbers were collected from public assistance program data from 2007 to 2011. A separate report claims that McDonald’s (MCD), Yum Brands’ (YUM) Subway, Burger King (BKW), Wendy’s (WEN), Dunkin Donuts (DNKN), Dairy Queen, Little Caesar’s, Sonic (SONC) and Domino’s (DPZ) are responsible for about $3.8 billion of taxpayers’ money going to support fast-food workers on public aid a year. McDonald’s is responsible for $1.2 billion of this cost by itself, reports CNN Money.

“The fact is that McDonald’s and our independent franchisees provide jobs in every state to hundreds of thousands of people across the country,” McDonald’s told the Chicago Tribune. ” Those jobs range from entry-level part-time to full-time, and we offer everyone the same opportunity for advancement.”