Copy Paste Remix #1: SNAP Judgment — When the United States Criminalizes Hunger

This essay, “SNAP Judgment: When the United States Criminalizes Hunger,” examines how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reveals the structural violence embedded in U.S. social policy. Framed through an Ethnic Studies lens, it traces the racialized history of welfare discourse—from Reagan’s “welfare queen” myth to modern debates over work requirements—and exposes how hunger is politicized as a moral failure rather than a policy design. Drawing on recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and equity-focused research from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the essay argues that SNAP’s erosion reflects a broader ideology that privileges corporate subsidy over human survival. It also spotlights Bay Area food banks as sites of grassroots resistance, demonstrating how community-led food justice efforts sustain dignity where federal safety nets fail. Ultimately, the piece contends that hunger in America is not accidental but deliberate—a product of systemic inequity disguised as fiscal discipline, and a mirror reflecting who this nation chooses to feed and who it allows to starve.

—Telisa Nyoka King, M.A.