Free fridges and mutual aid groups are a community-driven way to fight food insecurity, and including flavor and spice should be part of the strategy
benefits, individually wrapped slices of cheese are prohibited, as are “fruit-nut mixtures” and pickles. And SNAP benefits list things like honey, coffee, vanilla extract, and bouillon as “accessory foods,” and affect retailers’ abilities to be eligible to sell foods to SNAP recipients. This is often done under the guise of “health,” with the government saying they’re encouraging people, especially children, to eat fresh vegetables instead of packaged and processed foods.
America does a great job of convincing us that being poor is the fault of the individual. If you rely on SNAP benefits or food pantries or free fridges for your food, the message is that it’s your fault, and that “beggars can’t be choosers.” Luckily, many continue to push back against that narrative, pointing out how poverty is a structural issue. Sure, dried oregano or cumin seeds are not anyone’s main source of calories. But, as should be obvious by now, food is about more than calories.
It’s easy to see how these additions get overlooked. You can’t make a meal out of Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper are so ubiquitous you’d think they came with every rental kitchen. But if $2 can buy two cans of black beans or one canister of red pepper flakes, most people would budget for the former. And the spices are what transform those beans from a vehicle for calories into a meal, whether it’s Cuban frijoles negros or a black bean dal.
Hopefully one day we’ll redistribute all of Jeff Bezos’s wealth and everyone will be able to afford equitably grown turmeric. But until then, it’ll be— is boring as hell. So next time you’re donating to your pantry, consider spices the staples that they are.
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