In Washington, D.C., the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (a name which I strongly dispute the accuracy of) has been a controversial mess from its conception. Rather than trying to unite the country with broadly needed and desired services, Trump and his administration are cutting necessary social programs that will only hurt our communities further.
Along with Medicaid, on the chopping block is SNAP. That something as essential as access to food would be decimated by the people who are supposed to be leading and representing us is insulting.
There is nothing beautiful about a budget that intensifies food insecurity and amplifies a legacy of discrimination in access to land and nutrition. Over 12% of the total US population receives SNAP benefits to feed themselves and their families. Almost 40% of those beneficiaries are children.
Taking food from the hungry is nothing short of cruel. Too many people, a massively increasing number of people, do not have access to a complete and nutritious diet. They face exclusion, denial and discrimination. They are working as hard as they can to provide for their family and they deserve support so that they do not starve.
To our elected officials, I ask: What is so big and beautiful about leaving people hungry? We know the pain will not be evenly distributed.
The cuts to SNAP are just the latest in a long history of attacking those who are already disadvantaged. Black communities have long lived under and been impacted by food apartheid. For centuries, we have been stripped of our land, denied access to much-needed resources and blocked from exercising agency over our own environment. It is not new, and it is clear that it is not yet over. Cries of racism, violence, and political turmoil intensify the disparities.
To address these generational harms, I started the Black Church Food Security Network. Though I had started a garden at the church I pastored five years before, our organization was truly born in the aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray on April 19, 2015. The pain and suffering of Black Baltimore spilled over. Corner stores closed, transportation to get groceries was halted, and people were left with few options to feed their families.
This reality was not sustainable. With government and social programs halted or slow to respond, my small community garden became the cornerstone of a movement in the midst of the Uprising. I reached out to other churches, local farmers, and members of the community who saw the need for action. Together, we delivered fresh food to families in need even in the midst of marches and demonstrations. In the midst of the Uprising, we acted as a community to feed ourselves, without any funding from the government or grants from the philanthropic sector.
There are ways for us to protect access to nutritious food when the government leaves us behind. With cuts to SNAP, we can turn to these methods. I have seen the need for active community involvement, and every day I work to grow the power we hold in our own neighborhoods. Black farmers, Black churches, Black people will organize and provide for our own communities, as we did after the death of Freddie Gray at the hands of Baltimore City police. Our mission continues today. We organize the hungry so that they may feed themselves.
Food insecurity disproportionately impacts Black people, regardless of who is in power or what crisis may emerge. Over and over again, we have seen that we cannot rely on the government to keep our communities healthy and fed. This is why self-reliance is so crucial.
In today’s political landscape, we carry these lessons with us. SNAP may be taken away or drastically weakened. We will not have government funding or support. There may even be more unrest. Our tradition has not been to passively wait for the storm to pass. Instead, we will join together and provide for ourselves what others will not.
Organizations like the Black Church Food Security Network live this mission day in and day out. Our community has been tested in times of turmoil and in times of calm. Administrations change. Policies and comfort levels change. Communal self-reliance is always necessary.
I know that times are frightening. The news is overwhelming. Things we rely on are uncertain at best and nowhere to be seen at worst. We must not be discouraged. We can have an impact on our own communities. We can organize ourselves.
Now is not a time to retreat; it is a time to lift up our voices. Now is the time to organize and mobilize. There is a support network available. We need only look to our neighbors and communities to find it.
Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, III is an author, pastor, and founder of The Black Church Food Security Network.