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Feeding people should never be partisan
This joint op-ed was originally published in The Detroit News.
Right now, as the federal government remains shut down, nearly 42 million Americans are wondering how they’ll put food on the table. SNAP benefits, the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program, hang in limbo. For many families, that means the grocery money they count on to get through the month could vanish overnight. When we talk about food aid, too often we reduce it to numbers and programs. But food is far more than calories or policy. It’s how we welcome neighbors, celebrate milestones and heal when life breaks our hearts. Across cultures and faiths, food is sacred. It’s how we extend care and dignity to one another, how we prove each day that we see and value each other as human beings. In our work, with one of us leading a foundation rooted in community and the other leading a food bank that feeds thousands every week, we see this truth daily. That’s why the conversation about SNAP cannot just be about budgets or bureaucracy. It’s about who we are as a people. When we make it harder for families to eat, we are saying hunger is acceptable collateral damage. When we make sure everyone has enough, we affirm our shared humanity.
Still, the public debate often turns away from that truth. Outdated stereotypes about “food stamps” persist, tropes that paint recipients as dependent rather than determined. The reality is far different. Most SNAP recipients are children, seniors, veterans and working families who keep our communities running. Many workers rely on SNAP while they are employed or searching for work. The program helps households bridge gaps during short bouts of unemployment, cover fluctuating earnings or stabilize persistently low wages. These are teachers’ aides, caregivers, cashiers and delivery drivers — the people who show up every day to serve others. Their lives are lessons in resilience and resourcefulness. The average person receiving SNAP gets about $177 a month, barely six dollars a day, to help stretch a food budget that’s already thin. That small amount keeps kids fed, parents focused and elders nourished. Every dollar in SNAP benefits generates roughly $1.50 in local economic activity. Feeding people doesn’t just ease suffering; it strengthens communities. When that lifeline is cut off, everyone feels it. Food banks like Gleaners brace for surges in demand we cannot fully meet. Nonprofits that don’t normally operate as food pantries become them, redirecting dollars away from other needed programs. Schools see more children arriving hungry and unable to learn. Hospitals see more diet-related illness. The moral, economic and civic costs of neglect ripple outward.
This moment is a test. Not of our politics, but of our compassion. Feeding people should never be partisan. It is one of the simplest, oldest acts of humanity there is. So what can any of us do while Washington debates? Start close to home. Support your local food bank. Check in on a neighbor. Remind your community that hunger anywhere diminishes all of us. If you can do one thing, be kind. If you can do two things, be kind and generous in support of your community. If you can do three things, be kind, generous and tell your elected representatives in Congress that caring for one another and ensuring none of us goes hungry is the work of a strong nation. Our nation’s true character, and the soul of its promise, are not measured by the size of its economy or the power of its institutions. They are measured by the tables we set, the meals we share and the care we extend to one another. That is where our strength begins. Let’s make sure everyone has a place.
Photo courtesy of Gleaners Community Food Bank
