It's still unclear if and when the US government is going to pay out SNAP benefits for November as I write this post. I hope that's no longer the case by the time you read this.
By the way, this post will be about food and mindset around eating. I don't usually write about food, and if this isn't a topic you feel comfortable diving into, please feel free to skip this one.
SNAP, in case you're unfamiliar, is a federal program that provides monthly food assistance to low-income households to help them buy groceries. The money is loaded onto an EBT card, which can be used like a debit card at grocery stores (and farmers' markets) to purchase eligible food items.
Food is expensive these days. According to the USDA, food prices increased by 23.6% from 2020 to 2024. Around 12 percent of U.S. residents use SNAP benefits - that's 42 million people.
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In general, trans people tend to experience more food insecurity than the general population, which is related to being more likely to be low-income, unhoused, and/or unemployed.
Researchers from UCLA using data from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Household Pulse Survey found:
Nearly five times as many transgender people of color as White cisgender people (28.2% vs 6.0%) experienced food insufficiency at some point during the summer or early fall of 2021.
Most transgender (87.7%) and cisgender (82.3%) adults reported that their inability to afford more food was the cause of insufficient food in their household. Almost twice as many transgender people as cisgender people (27.7% and 12.3%, respectively) reported other barriers to accessing food, including that they could not get out to buy food for reasons such as “didn’t have transportation, have mobility or health limitations.”
It may be very uncomfortable to go to a food pantry in person if you're a visibly queer or trans person. Many programs are run by religious organizations, some of which are not tolerant of LGBTQ+ people.
This is one benefit of SNAP - you can go to a grocery store instead of facing harassment from a religious organization to get your food. You can also select exactly the foods that you can eat and will use.
You deserve to eat
I have a tendency to think about my food in terms of how much it costs. As someone who tries to keep my expenses low, the problem is that I find myself budgeting and restricting my food intake, even if I could otherwise afford to eat more affluently.
Like any food restriction, this can be unhealthy. Self-reflection with some nuance is essential to figure out if a food limitation is contributing to well-being or is disordered eating.
You deserve to eat, whether or not you have the cash to do so comfortably.
So let's review some options!
Figuring out the food pantry
Even if you are able to go to a food pantry, it may still feel uncomfortable due to embarrassment or shame. I urge you to consider, it's okay for someone to give you free food and for you to accept it. No one is a bad person in this scenario.
