Every June, communities nationwide raise their voices to celebrate Pride Month, a time to honor the resilience, dignity, and humanity of LGBTQ+ people. It’s also a time to remember that Pride began as a protest, a collective demand for safety and equality.
Hunger is a justice issue, and our LGBTQ+ neighbors are disproportionately affected. At MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, we’re mobilizing a movement to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) while our administration proposes cuts to basic needs programs.
MAZON is inviting folks to join our national postcard campaign to flood the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with a powerful message: No one deserves to go hungry, no exceptions. And to mark Pride month and lift up our work in service of LGBTQ+ seniors and trans youth, we’re offering limited-edition postcards featuring the Progress Pride and Transgender flags—because visibility and solidarity matter, especially in the fight for food justice.
SNAP is the nation’s most effective anti-hunger program. It helps over 42 million people afford food each month, including LGBTQ+ individuals. But this program is constantly under political attack. Right now, decision-makers at USDA have the power to change how SNAP is administered, and those changes could create more barriers for the people who need help the most.
LGBTQ older adults often face unique and persistent challenges in accessing assistance programs and the complementary services offered through the charitable food network. Discrimination in employment, housing, and healthcare systems also puts many queer people at the margins, fighting just to survive. When we talk about hunger in this country, we have to talk about how systems of oppression intersect. And when we talk about fighting hunger, we must show up in ways that reflect the full humanity of the most impacted people.
Every postcard we send to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins represents 1,000 people experiencing hunger. Our goal? 47,000 postcards. That’s 47 million lives. When writing your postcards, think of the trans teens and young adults navigating education, employment and government benefits in systems that are dangerously hostile to their very existence. Of older LGBTQ+ adults living on fixed incomes with few support networks. Of queer families doing everything they can to stay afloat in a system stacked against them. Write because these stories matter—and because silence is not an option.
At its heart, Pride is about dignity. And food is dignity.
Let’s show up for our LGBTQ+ neighbors not just in celebration, but in solidarity. Let’s fight for policies that reflect the world we want to live in, where everyone has the nourishment they need to thrive, no matter who they are or whom they love.
Order your postcards and learn more at mazon.org/postcards.