Sophi Wilmore of Feed Black Futures on SNAP

KPFA - Hard Knock Radio

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26d ago 59:58

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Here’s a clear look at the conversation between Hard Knock Radio host Davey D and Sophi Wilmore, co director of Feed Black Futures, about the fallout from threatened SNAP cuts and what communities can do about it.

The discussion opens with breaking context. A federal judge has ordered the administration to keep SNAP funded during the shutdown turmoil, but compliance remains unclear. Sophi notes that California and San Francisco were already moving to cushion the blow for CalFresh recipients, yet the bigger story is older and deeper. Food deserts, soaring grocery prices, and cultural narratives that shame poor people create a steady crisis even when benefits arrive on time.

Sophi frames the problem as food apartheid produced by an extractive economy and a white supremacist culture. The point is not rhetorical. Poor nutrition shortens lives and breaks families. While Black communities have long practiced mutual aid, government programs still matter because the current system pushes people over cliffs. SNAP often keeps children, elders, and disabled family members from going hungry. Take that away and desperation rises, which then gets criminalized.

Why have alternatives not scaled faster. Sophi points to historic repression of Black self determination, from attacks on the Panthers to the loss of land and farming knowledge. Today small farmers face debt, water scarcity, and aging workforces. At the same time, many funders have shifted away from direct service, telling groups to teach people to fish while folks are hungry right now. Cuts to SNAP also ripple through the whole food chain. Less demand hurts stores, workers, and farmers, especially the small ones.

Feed Black Futures is building a practical lane. The group runs a community led mutual aid fund and a Leadership Council in West Oakland, East Oakland, and Sacramento. Every fifty dollars covers a weekly produce box that feeds two people, sourced from Black and Indigenous farmers. The call to action is simple and local. Find a political home, meet your neighbors, volunteer, and contribute if you can. Sophi ends on grounded hope. There are elders and organizers who have laid the groundwork, there are solutions on the table, and there are more people who care than those who do not. For details and to plug in, visit feedblackfutures.org.

Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.

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