Thanksgiving is at once the most inspiring and the most infuriating of American holidays.
It’s inspiring because on Thursday, as in many years past, so many people in the Upper Valley and elsewhere will be moved to share their material and spiritual bounty with the less fortunate in their communities – the elderly, the disabled, the impoverished, the lonely, working families that are just barely scraping by.
These acts of kindness and human connection will play out not only in the sit-down meals communities host, but also in individual homes where family celebrations will be enriched by the presence of guests who might otherwise spend a lonely day by themselves.
As our colleague Liz Sauchelli reported recently, while the food is the centerpiece of any gathering, large or small, companionship shares top billing on the menu. “Now more than ever, hosting a community Thanksgiving meal feels deeply important — not just because of the rising cost of groceries, but because so many of us are seeking connection,” observed Melissa Arnesen-Trunzo, one of the organizers of a dinner at the Orford Congregational Church.
That sentiment was seconded by Robin Wittemann, one of the lead organizers of the annual Community Harvest Meal on Thanksgiving Day at Trinity Church in Claremont. “The food is important; the meal is important,” she told Sauchelli, “but it’s that gathering that’s most important. Companionship. Laughter.”
Asked if guests needed to sign up ahead of time, Wittemann said, “Absolutely not. Our doors are open. It’s a community event. No reservations. Just show up.”
The generosity displayed by those who volunteer at and donate to such gatherings certainly does not go unreciprocated. And as the old carol aptly points out, “Therefore, righteous men, be sure/Wealth or rank possessing/ye who now will bless the poor/shall yourselves find blessing.” For men, read women and children as well. And the children who volunteer with their parents stand to learn an important lesson about the responsibility to share the good things of life.
The need does not disappear, of course, with the passing of the Thanksgiving holiday. A recent listing in the Valley News of food pantries in the Upper Valley totaled 32, indicating just how urgent is the need year-round for food assistance and how admirable is the effort to meet it.
Which brings us to the infuriating part. How is it that amid America’s fabulous riches, in a country that exported $176 billion in agricultural products in 2024, millions of people cannot be sure where their next meal is coming from, or what it will consist of? In a country where the top 0.1% of Americans hold 14% of the country’s wealth, while the entire bottom half holds 2.5%? Moral outrage is in order.
According to the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security Report, 47 million people across the country live in households that experience food security. That means that at some time during the previous year, a household was unable to provide an adequate amount of nutritious food for all its members because its financial resources were limited.
To keep the wolf from the door, 42 million of those people, roughly 40% of whom are children, depend on an average of $6 per day provided by the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is the nation’s primary source of food assistance. Just how important this program is can be inferred from the fact that SNAP is estimated to provide nine meals for every one provided by food banks.
This is of no moment to the Trump administration or to Congress. This year they enacted one big ugly bill that imposes $186 billion in cuts on the SNAP program, the largest in history. This to offset tax cuts that will flow primarily to the wealthiest 10% of Americans. Under this signature act of the Trump administration, parents and older Americans will have to meet new, stricter work requirements and states will eventually have to begin sharing the cost of providing SNAP benefits, which will surely curtail the availability of food for those who desperately need it.
The administration has also tried to ensure that the effects of this coming disaster will be obscured. The USDA announced in September that it is canceling the annual Household Food Security Report, mentioned above, which for nearly 30 years has been the gold standard of data for researchers, policymakers and nonprofits trying to understand the scope of hunger in America and what to do about it.
To all those who do what they can, year-in and year-out, to provide food for those who need it, thank you. Charity is an important part of the equation. But it is only a part. America can do much better if it musters the political will to broadly address this problem, rather than make it worse. The answer is in the ballot box as well as in the food pantry.