OH SNAP!
The following is a reprint column that I feel is to pertinent the ongoing government shutdown that will deprive millions of Americans of their monthly SNAP allowance. This is going to get ugly real soon—OH SNAP!
One of the greatest lessons I learned was in college as a student on my own for the first time, I realized, “hungry” people think and act differently. There were times when the college closed for the holiday, and I’d stay in my dorm in Boston for the Christmas break. During that time the cafeteria was closed, and I was broke as a joke and had no access to money, having had no idea where I was going to eat my next meal. It wasn’t like Mommy was going to Cash App me money then.
In the 70’s, the only way to receive money from home had to come in a form of a check. So, my mindset started to change. I knew I could always eat something if I could just get past the lone cashier at the local grocery store down the street. I didn’t give stealing food a second thought. I’m ashamed to admit it but I became a thief. Something I would have ordinarily been too scared to do, but when it comes to hunger, I lost all sense the law, morality and good citizenship. I recognized then people think differently when they are hungry.
I am bringing this up in reference to the 40% cut in the SNAP Program (Food Stamps), mandated by Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill passed last month. 40 million Americans will be affected. Change is coming for many people that receive SNAP or want to receive it. In the bill, a recipient can only receive SNAP benefits for no more than 3 months in a three-year period. Also, there will be a job requirement to receive benefits.
At first blush, I thought it was Trump’s way to putting black people in their place. But what Trump prob ably doesn’t know is more white people receiving food stamps than Blacks. Mostly card carrying MAGA supporters in southern red states. This reminds me of a funny story I’ve told many times before. As a rookie firefighter, I was assigned to in South Buffalo Station. One afternoon it was my task to pick up lunch at the nearby Tops Market. It must have been the first of the month because the store was packed with white people all with carts full of food. Being from the hood, I knew right away what the deal was. When I got back to the firehouse, I casually mentioned to my all-white conservative brethren how crowded the store was and wondered why. They acted like they didn’t hear but they did, and they knew what I was insinuating.
Some baby boomers may remember a time before food stamps, when the U.S. government opened food centers where “surplus food” was provided for free or very low cost to people on Welfare— In Buffalo it was in the Masten Armory. At that time the gov ernment bought up excess crops and livestock products from farmers to stabilize prices and prevent market collapse. These surplus foods includ ed butter, cheese, flour, canned meats, peanut butter, and powdered milk and eggs, fresh vegetables and other sta ples and meat. Today the government spends billions subsiding farmers for not growing crops. Maybe it is time to reconsider “Surplus Food “centers again for the masses.
The SNAP cut is sure to increase in the crime rate in both the black and white communities. Mark my words, people think criminals fueled by drugs. That will pale in compari sons to the drive for food. No food no peace.