A Question Worth Asking

I serve as a trustee of the Alexander Eastman Foundation (AEF), a $12M endowment that gives grants to local agencies supporting health and wellness in our area. The AEF is the major funder of the Heaven's Kitchen meal program and food truck out of St. Anne's Parish, which served over 126,000 meals in fiscal year 2025, a 30% increase over the previous year. We've all felt the pinch as grocery prices have taken off, and as a volunteer in the Community Garden behind the church the past few years, I've seen how much the vegetables we harvest are eagerly received by our neighbors struggling with food insecurity. Below, I'm sharing a post by Jim Carey, the man behind the amazing team at Heaven's Kitchen. Please consider a donation to Heaven's Kitchen, hknh.org.

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At Heaven’s Kitchen, we see food insecurity up close every day. We meet seniors, working families, children and neighbors who are struggling with the rising cost of food, housing, utilities and health care.

This week, President Trump proposed providing a $5,000 payment to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate in November. Details about how the proposal would be funded or implemented have not yet been provided, and such spending would require action by Congress.

At the same time, recent federal legislation has made significant reductions to programs serving lower-income Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that changes enacted in 2025 will reduce projected federal SNAP spending by $211 billion and Medicaid spending by approximately $1.2 trillion through 2035.

That creates a question worth discussing:

If our country can consider spending more than $1 trillion to provide $5,000 payments to American adults, what does that say about our ability—and our priorities—when it comes to ensuring that families can afford food and basic health care?

Food insecurity isn't a Republican issue or a Democratic issue.

Hunger doesn't ask how someone votes.

At Heaven’s Kitchen, our focus remains where it has always been: making sure our friends and neighbors have nutritious food on their tables and are treated with dignity.

We encourage everyone to learn about these proposals, look carefully at their impact on the people who need assistance most, and make their own informed decisions.

Because no one in our community should have to wonder where their next meal is coming from.