When I was younger, I benefitted directly from food stamps. My mom was raising three children on her own off of wages and tips earned from her job as a bartender. There was also a period when she was battling cancer and could earn no money at all.
Even then as a small boy, I felt the stigma of receiving food stamps; recalling specific times when I was told we couldn’t have a specific food item because we either couldn’t afford it or it wasn’t covered. This included some occasions when we actually were at checkout and had to return something to the shelves with great embarrassment as those behind us in line looked on in judgement.
Many years later, I had the opportunity to work with the state of California to redesign their food stamp program. One of the goals was to select a new name that would help de-stigmatize the program, as they found many eligible recipients were reluctant to apply for the benefit out of shame. The program was ultimately named CalFresh: Better Food for Better Living.
The phrase “better food for better living” summarizes the true benefits of the program and should be obvious. Children who aren’t hungry do better at school. Adults perform better at their work. Families have more resources to pay other bills, like rent or heat or school supplies.
I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that I would not be where I am today had it not been for this assistance.
The same could be said for Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Dr. Ben Carson, Howard Schultz (Starbucks), Lebron James and JD Vance – a few examples of the many people who have benefited from food assistance programs. In fact, about half of all Americans have or will benefit from this program at some point in their lives.
But most of us don’t like to talk about it. Our silence contributes to the stigma.
As I write this, over forty million Americans are at risk of losing their benefits because of the government shutdown. Of those, 70% are elderly, disabled or children. In fact, one in five US children currently receives food assistance.
Consider the inequities within the richest country in the world whose economic system produces the most billionaires in the world while also producing so many hungry children,
Earlier this week Billie Eilish was accepting an award sponsored by the Wall Street Journal. In front of many of those billionaires and other extremely wealthy people, she said, “Love you all, but there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me. If you are a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but give your money away, shorties.” Putting her money where her mouth is, Eiilsh announced she was giving away the equivalent of 20% of her net worth (almost $12 million) to organizations providing food assistance or addressing climate change.
Of course, individual donations, while helpful in the short-term, aren’t the long term answer. Political action is. I find it incredulous that during any government shutdown members of congress, the executive branch and their respective staffs continue to get paid. Shouldn’t their salaries be the first funds cut? After all, their job is to fund the government and instead they are playing chicken with the American people’s food and healthcare.
If there is any shame to be felt related to food assistance, it should be from those who are literally getting paid to deny food to others.
So what are we to do? First off, try not to be ashamed if you are or ever were on food assistance. Second, tell others you were. Knowing people personally who benefit from programs reduces stigma and increases support. Third, don’t fall into the trap of judging who deserves or doesn’t deserve assistance. No one in America deserves to go hungry. Full stop.
This Week’s Recommendation: While we wait for others to do their jobs, consider donating to your local food bank or pantry. You can probably find your closest one by visiting Feeding America’s website.
Consider sharing this with your elected officials with a respectful request that they either do their job or consider not accepting their paycheck.