Nationwide Food Assistance Resources

Taking a moment this morning to share a variety of nationwide food assistance resource hubs. Please share this information with your networks and communities. Share them with your co-workers and HR. Be willing to be the person who can look up, print out, and download resource information for people in your orbit.

Be in community. We all we got.

Find free or reduced-cost resources like food, housing, financial assistance, healthcare, and more: www.findhelp.org

Find a local food bank in your area: www.feedingamerica.org/need-help-find-food and https://foodfinder.us/

Find a community fridge in your area: www.freedge.org and www.changex.org/ca/communityfridge/locations

Find a Little Free Pantry in your area: https://www.littlefreepantry.org/

Find a mutual aid network providing food assistance in your area: www.mutualaidhub.org

This Week's Opening Thought: October 27, 2025

This week's opening thought: If you're senior leadership in an organization and you haven't taken one moment over the past ten months to consider how everything happening in the United States is impacting the mental, physical, and emotional well being of the people who work for you, especially your team members from marginalized, vilified, and targeted communities?

You need to own that you don't care about the people who work for your organization.

If in the last few months you haven't taken the time to work with other senior leaders in your organization to develop contingency plans, resource guides, an on-site food pantry, or any other support for the folx working for you trying to take care of themselves and their families while being chastised for a mistake on a report?

You need to own that productivity, profit, and personal comfort matter more to you than people.

And if somehow, over this past month, you haven't thought for one second how many of your organization's salaries aren't enough for the people who work for you to survive and take care of themselves, their families, or their communities without government assistance yet you're figuring out where the company Christmas party is gonna be held this year (emphasis on "Christmas" because so many people complained last year about it being called a holiday party)?

You need to own that human life and survival are barely tertiary concerns for you.

Own that you view people as an end to a means.

Own that your comfort is much more important than human lives.

Own that you just don't care.

Own it.

You might as well, because you ain't foolin' anyone.

On Polka Dot Dresses and Doing Anything But Actually Doing Something

Let's see...safety pins, vagina hats, blue bracelets, pink suits, and now?

Polka dot dresses.

Because why stand up, go outside, and physically be about that life like the female New Yorker in the polka dot dress who tussled with ICE agents Tuesday when an ICE sweep triggered protests on Manhattan’s Canal Street, when you can just cosplay as her and post pictures on social media of yourself with captions like "IYKYK"?

Oh, cishet women of pallor. The performative "clothing and accessories as a form of resistance" thing just never, ever ends with y'all, does it?

Geezus Kristo.

Accessorizing is NOT an act of resistance. Wearing a piece of clothing is NOT an act of resistance. But you know what? It is a great signal for the rest of us to clock your performative nonsense while knowing not to trust you or expect you to be ten toes down for a real, tangible, physical act of resistance in these streets.

And real talk? Some of y'all ain't got the skin tone to pull off polka dots.

You can sip that tea however you see fit.

On SNAP, Your Friends, Your Neighbors, and You Being Cold as Ice

Come November 1, millions of people in the United States will see their ongoing struggle to survive and afford groceries in a disintegrating economy increase tenfold, as the federal government shutdown has ensured that no one will be receiving SNAP benefits. In a year that has already been an uphill climb up a mountain of quicksand and bramble bushes for millions of families, this is like someone at the top of said mountain throwing barrels down at you like Donkey Kong.

Now, before one of y'all chimes in with glee about people you think are "mooching off the system" and being happy that families, children, senior citizens, people with disabilities - hell, anyone - could starve and die I want you to 1) go take a long walk and call up a therapist to figure out and unpack who hurt you to the point where starvation makes you giggle like the Pillsbury doughboy, 2) prepare for your comment to be deleted as well as being added to my block list, and 3) recognize that government assistance isn't some mooching operation as you've decided to believe.

Your friends, neighbors, and colleagues who go to work every damn day are gettin' SNAP benefits too, you cold bastard. And you don't have a clue because you've proven to be someone they can't trust to care about their wellbeing so they have to keep their needs private while being made self-conscious of their need for assistance by the words and actions of people like you.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBBP) released data in January 2025 that shared the following statistics:

- In 2024, over 38% of households receiving SNAP benefits nationally included at least one working family member.
- For SNAP households with children, 55% had earned income in 2023 (2023 is the most recent data available because why do the work to keep accurate statistics on something like this?).

The CBBP also made sure to emphasize that while the percentage of households with a working family member is significant, data snapshots often undercount how many SNAP participants worked over the course of a year, as job market volatility and other factors lead many folx to cycle in and out of jobs. Studies have also shown that non-disabled working-age adults who can work do so, and many rely on SNAP only for temporary support. The CBBP also emphasized that many workers, particularly those in low-wage or service and sales jobs that are impacted by seasonal fluctuations or the health of the economy, rely on SNAP benefits to supplement their income and help afford groceries.

So instead of havin' a good laugh about the misery of others, maybe take a minute to dispel your ridiculously racist and bigoted notions of welfare and government assistance and keep your thoughts to your damn self.

If you're not going to contribute to supporting others and showing up as a empathic human being then do us all a favor and contribute to reducing noise pollution while the rest of us work our asses off to assist others in a time of crisis.

On "No Kings" and Actually Doing Something

So there was a big ol' national "No Kings" rally this past weekend. And you know what? Some respect for people who showed up, marched, made signs, and wanted to be in solidarity with like-minded people who aren't ok with *gestures wildly* EVERYTHING happening in the United States right now. You wanted to stand up and be counted among those who are against authoritarianism, hate, and oppression. Cool. But real talk? I always find myself asking people who attend these mass protests the same questions.

What organizations had a hand in organizing your local protest? Did you get information from those orgs for how you can volunteer time, money, supplies, or other resources to their causes?

How many resource guides and informational pamphlets, booklets, or flyers did you get at the rally? Have you scanned those documents in and shared them with others?

Did you leave the "No Kings" rally with some idea of how you'd like to focus your time and energy for the next few months or year? Did you leave with a clear idea of something you can dive into right now, something tangible, that you can take action with today?

Now, when I ask questions like this, of course certain people *cough* people of pallor *cough* get agitated. Evidently, I'm a hater or "not down for the cause" when I ask people what their plans are post-flashy social media-worthy rally experience. But guess what? That's the actual purpose of a protest rally, dude.

Seriously.

The purpose of a protest rally is to gather in solidarity while learning about tangible ways you can actively engage in social activism and do your part in addressing human rights issues in your community.

You know, volunteering your time and energy and putting your skills to use on particular issues in your community.

You know, ACTUAL community organizing and engagement.

You know, not just spending 10 hours on a sign that'll sit in your closet gathering dust until the next "No Kings" rally where you'll rinse and repeat with no tangible actions taken on your part to be actively engaged in pursuing change.

But OK, I guess I'm a hater for expecting substance over style.

C'est la vie.