I’ve seen the comments. You probably have too.
“They should just get a job.”
“SNAP was supposed to be temporary.”
“Why are we paying for people to eat junk food?”
“They drive nicer cars than I do.”
“Take away the handouts and they’ll get motivated.”
Let me be clear: I am sick to death of this cruelty masquerading as common sense.
People deserve to eat. That’s the beginning and the end of the conversation.
I don’t care what put someone in the position to need help. I don’t care if they’re between jobs, working three of them, raising kids alone, caring for a sick parent, dealing with trauma, or just trying to survive in a system that’s stacked against them. If someone is hungry, they deserve food. Period.
And if that offends you more than the fact that millions of people in this country go to bed hungry while grocery prices skyrocket and wages stagnate, then maybe it’s time to ask yourself why.
I’ve heard people say SNAP should only cover “the basics”—bread, milk, rice, beans. As if poor people should be grateful for the bare minimum. As if dignity is a luxury item. As if the people making these comments have never once grabbed a frozen pizza or a bag of chips after a long day.
Let me tell you something: hunger doesn’t build character. It doesn’t inspire ambition. It doesn’t teach discipline. Hunger breaks people. It breaks bodies, minds, and spirits.
And before SNAP? People didn’t “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” They died.
They died of malnutrition. They died of preventable illness. They died of despair.
SNAP isn’t a handout. It’s a lifeline. And if you’ve never needed it, that’s not a moral achievement—it’s a stroke of luck. Maybe you had family to fall back on. Maybe you had a safety net. Maybe you just haven’t hit your storm yet.
But storms come.
I’ve lived through them. I’ve watched the fridge go bare and the bills pile up. I’ve seen the look in someone’s eyes when they’re trying to decide whether to buy gas or groceries. And I’ve seen the difference a single EBT card can make—not just in calories, but in hope.
So no, I won’t entertain the idea that people on SNAP are lazy. I won’t nod along when someone says they’re gaming the system. I won’t pretend that the real problem is someone buying soda with their benefits instead of the fact that we live in a country where billionaires hoard wealth while kids go to school hungry.
You want to talk about motivation? Try parenting on an empty stomach. Try working a double shift and still not making enough to feed your family. Try asking for help in a world that treats poverty like a personal failure.
People deserve to eat.
Not just the “deserving poor.” Not just the ones who meet your moral checklist. Not just the ones who look the part. All people.
And if that bothers you, maybe the problem isn’t them. Maybe it’s the part of you that forgot what it means to be human.
So here’s my Farm Table Talk for the day: share what you have. Speak with kindness. And if you can’t find compassion, then at the very least, stay out of the way of those who are trying to keep people fed.
Because food is not a reward for good behavior. It’s a human right.
And no one should have to earn the right to eat.
We don’t have much here on the farm. We’re struggling too—financially, physically, emotionally. But we still share what we have. Whether it’s eggs, extra produce, or a warm meal, we give because we know what it’s like to need.
And if more people remembered that kind of neighborliness—if more people led with empathy instead of judgment—this country might just start to heal.
