On November 1, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits abruptly froze.
Although two federal judges ruled almost simultaneously that President Donald Trump’s administration must use emergency reserve funds to keep SNAP going during the government shutdown, it is unclear exactly when redistribution will occur — and how long it will last.
In the meantime, an estimated 42 million Americans no longer have access to monthly funds for groceries.
As the SNAP cuts loomed on October 26, Heretic Coffee in Portland, Oregon decided to step up.
“If your SNAP benefits are running out, then breakfast is on us,” the coffee shop posted to Threads.
“NO ONE should have to worry about their next meal. Portland fam, we know it’s not much, but we’ll do our best to keep you fed. Starting November 1st, each day 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.”
Since that announcement, Heretic Coffee’s efforts have gone viral, raising over $310,000 from more than 11,000 donors.
“Norway. Australia. Ireland. New Zealand. Egypt … and that’s just the emails I’ve been able to get to,” Josh, the owner of Heretic Coffee, posted to Instagram on October 30. “All around the country, there are coffee shops, restaurants, and cafes offering SNAP breakfasts, SNAP lunches, and SNAP dinners.”
“We’ve said it on every post — when the system fails us, it’s up to us to [take] care of each other,” he added. “And the world (yes, literally, the world) has done just that.”
Amidst the massive outpouring of support, the coffee shop has been subject to criticism from skeptics in the comments section who believe customers might “abuse” the free breakfast policy to get free food.
In response, Josh hopped online on November 2 to address the critics.
“I want to tell you a couple of the stories that came out today because they're beautiful and I want you to know about them,” he said in an Instagram story. “The first story I want to share, I believe, is going to refute this comment that I've seen time and time again — which is people are just going to abuse this.”
Josh addressed two claims in his video. First, that people would come in “all the time” to get free meals, even if they had the money. And secondly, people who have never been on SNAP were going to lie for free food.
“You are wrong,” Josh said. “And I want to prove you wrong. Today, I specifically watched for that, mainly because I knew I would want to prove you wrong.”
“People would come in and they would order a breakfast burrito, and then our barista would say, ‘You have a coffee of your choice.’ Then they would ask, ‘What's the menu for it? What can we order?’” Josh recounted. “Number one, that would make me mad that they didn't think that they were worthy enough of [ordering] off of the main menu.”
Josh emphasized that there should not be a “specialized menu” of basic options for people receiving free food.
“Our barista would say, ‘It's a coffee of your choice. You can have anything you want off our coffee menu,’” he said. “And what I saw today was — over and over and over again — the people who were receiving the SNAP breakfast were getting emotional over that.”
“That tells me that the majority of them feel like they are lesser than everyone else,” he explained. “And that created some sort of fire in me today.”
Josh went on to say that when one customer received a free oat lavender matcha, they broke down in tears over it.
“I’m assuming [it’s because] they haven’t ordered an oat lavender matcha in ‘the normal way’ in a long time,” he noted.
Josh then shared his second story, which involved a customer ordering a single latte and an extra cup.
“[We come to] find out, they ordered the extra cup because this person poured half of her latte into another cup for her partner,” Josh said. “So they were sharing one latte. We fixed it. We gave them a second latte so they don't have to share.”
When Josh asked why they hadn’t ordered two, the couple responded that it was “too much generosity.”
“Number one, if you're saying people are going to abuse the system, no, they're not,” Josh said. “Number two, everybody is worthy of their own latte.”
The coffee shop is no stranger to skepticism. Within the first 24 hours of announcing their free breakfast policy, a Threads user said, “Sorry, but you will be bankrupt in a week.”
“We responded with ‘Much rather go bankrupt feeding our people than selling coffee while other families starve’ and we stand by that comment,” Josh told Good Good Good. “However, the way our Portland community has already showed up, I am more than confident we can power through.”
“We hope it reminds people that community doesn’t have to be complicated; that a cup of coffee and a breakfast burrito can be a small act of resistance against a system that leaves people hungry,” he added.
“If even one person feels seen, cared for, or less alone because of this, then it’s worth every ounce of effort.”
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Header image via Thirdman / Pexels
