When I’m home from the field, I’m part of a little non-profit coffee shop called Heretic Coffee Co.

What began as a small, practical response at Heretic quickly turned into something much larger than any of us anticipated.

When SNAP benefits were abruptly cut, we started serving free breakfasts - no questions asked, no proof needed - simply because people were hungry and showing up. We’ve always done things like this at Heretic.

Word spread faster than we could keep up with. Lines wrapped around the block. Volunteers poured in. Donations followed, not driven by our marketing or some “hero” spectacle, but by a shared refusal to accept that food insecurity is normal or deserved. Over a matter of weeks, what began as a neighborhood effort grew into a national moment with over 12,000 people around the world raising $360,000, and over 3,000 free meals given away in 3 months.

What struck me most wasn’t the scale, but the simplicity: people feeding people when systems failed them. The SNAP story wasn’t about charity. It was about dignity, and what becomes possible when we stop asking who deserves help and start asking who’s hungry.

Below are some of the interviews I did for this SNAP Breakfast Program during it’s viral moments.