Leran
@leran.bsky.social
Thinking a lot about humanity, anti-hunger policy, the Overton window, and what I'm going to eat next.
Friends, I want you to be among the first to know that in 2026, I am running... ...and biking.... ...and swimming... I'm doing a sprint triathlon on July 12th! But also raising money for 3 great candidates! Donate here: secure.actblue.com/donate/leran...
This is damning and exposes the whole facade of what attacks and cues to SNAP are really about. It’s not about waste, fraud, and abuse. It’s about turning people away so the government can redistribute more money to the ultra wealthy.
Food Research & Action Center@fracposts.bsky.social · 2mo agoA SNAP payment error rate doesn't tell the whole story. CAPERs track when eligible people are wrongly denied benefits or lose assistance. As states focus on reducing errors, we can't lose sight of access. frac.org/blog/balanci...
I like to imagine podcast host Toby Ziegler's response to the world.
Last week, the Massachusetts Senate finalized their version of the FY27 state budget and we want to thank @senrobynkennedy.bsky.social and the 21 cosponsors of an amendment (half the Senate) to increase funding to expand access to SNAP by hiring more DTA case workers to expand access to SNAP.
Recipes should list active time instead of prep time. If I’m chopping in the middle of the recipe that’s still time I can’t do other things!
⚠️ The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) is facing a critical staffing shortage, leaving thousands of residents unable to access essential SNAP benefits.
I’m proud my son, Elliot completed his 6th Walk for Hunger this weekend and is trying to raise $500, again. Not only that, but he donated from his own allowance. Please join him in support the important work we’ve been doing at Project Bread! give.projectbread.org/fundraiser/7...
This costs more than the ten-year savings from cutting SNAP benefits in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that will make it harder for low-income people to buy groceries
Jeff Stein@jeffstein.bsky.social · 5mo agoSCOOP: The Pentagon asked the White House today for more than *$200 billion* for Iran war supplemental, sources say Some in WH think Congress won't support b/c it's so big Will tee up giant battle in Congress My last story for WaPo: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Budgets reflect our marginal prioritization. We have limited resources, so we fund things at the expense of other things. Giving nearly $1 trillion to the military while dramatically underfunding housing aid, while leaving kids malnourished, while leaving people uninsured - it's a choice.
“wretched and vile man” who “had the blood of hundreds, even thousands, of Americans on his hands.” Takes one to know one, eh, Trump?
To commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day let’s truly live up to “never again”. Not only when violence rises to genocidal levels in another country, but also when agents of our government violate laws and morality to abuse, kidnap, and kill our neighbors. open.substack.com/pub/leranmin...
I don’t think Democrats should necessarily campaign on the economy. As a middle class white guy, I hear economy and I don’t think you’re talking about me. That’s for old money or finance/tech bros. Cost of living, though, now I’m listening.
G Elliott Morris@gelliottmorris.com · 7mo agoI will repeat: It is not obvious, based on the data, that campaigning on the economy in Nov would be significantly more effective than campaigning on immigration. Gov. policy is dramatically out of step with the public on immigration/deportations, and executive overreach is a potent motivator
“…policymakers need to strengthen and fully support healthy school and child-care meal programs as a cornerstone of any effort to reduce kids’ sugar intake. With such programs reaching more than 30 million children each day, they are among the most powerful levers to shape kids’ diets.”
The real reason your children can’t avoid added sugar - The Boston Globe
New federal dietary guidelines call for children to avoid added sugar until their 11th birthday. But we’re raising children in a food environment where added sugar is almost always the default.
bostonglobe.com
How to improve diet and health for low-income Americans in 3 easy steps 1) Repeal OBBBA SNAP cuts 2) Increase SNAP benefits from the current Thrifty Food Plan to AT LEAST the Low-Cost Food Plan** 3) Fully fund food is medicine programs for Medicaid and Medicare patients
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 7mo agoBrooke Rollins is still at it! "We had run almost 1,000 simulations, and between $3 and $4 is a fair number if you can have access to that food. I just saw new numbers that were run: a full day, meaning 3 full square meals and a snack, is about $15.64."
The one other this is hanger and sadness
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 7mo agoBrooke Rollins: "We've run over 1,000 simulations. It can cost around $3 a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, corn tortilla, and one other thing. So there is a way to do this that actually will save the average American consumer money."
Whether it’s Democrats putting their pronouns in email signatures or Republicans shooting and killing unarmed drivers, both sides have taken actions that the other side finds threatening.
Trying out the Substack thing and sharing my thoughts on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans including some recommendations on how we can truly ensure everyone has access to "real food". lnkd.in/ee7_ztvw
I'll leave it the experts in nutrition science to comment on the make-up of the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, but a friendly reminder that the DGA isn't worth anything if we don't increase supports like SNAP, boost funding for child nutrition programs, raise wages, and bring down prices.
Started The Painful Truth about Hunger in America. Couldn’t agree more w @marianachilton.bsky.social: “Responsibility for hunger in America lands in wallets, laps, hearts, and minds of the wealthy, who create inequality for their own profits. To solve it, we have to focus on ending inequality.”
My name is Leran and I wholeheartedly endorse @salaambhattiva.bsky.social. (FWIW)
Salaam Bhatti@salaambhattiva.bsky.social · 8mo agoI’m a public interest lawyer who has fought and won for tens of thousands of Virginians. We expanded SNAP and free school meals, increased cash assistance for VA’s poorest families, repealed unjust and racist laws, and helped create SNAPscreener.com - a tool used by over 2.5M families.
This is petty, but Brooke Rollins is who I would cast as Cruella Deville in a community theatre production of 101 Dalmatians. She has the look and the vibe. Also, this is illegal and absurd.
Politico@politico.com · 9mo agoThe Trump admin to require millions of low-income people to reapply for food stamps as part of an effort to crack down on “fraud," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.
The shutdown was an excuse, not a reason, to go after SNAP. SNAP recipients have to re-apply either every 6 months or year. Onerous process, with almost no fraud. There are no shutdown-related requirement for SNAP renewal. But it would predictably result in low-income families going hungry.
Marcia Brown@marciabrown.bsky.social · 9mo agoBrooke Rollins says on Newsmax SNAP participants will have to re-apply for the program. Details are still unclear. via Grace Yarrow for @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Aside from the fact that SNAP participants already have to periodically recertify for benefits — usually every 6 or 12 months — SNAP rules also prohibit states from arbitrarily shortening a household's certification period to force them to reapply early.
Politico@politico.com · 9mo agoThe Trump admin to require millions of low-income people to reapply for food stamps as part of an effort to crack down on “fraud," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.
Huge thanks to @projectbread.org for stepping up to help families impacted by President Trump's SNAP benefits freeze. Our team worked quickly to get benefits back on EBT cards — so if you’ve got funds, go get those groceries. And if you still need help, ask. You are not alone.
This spending bill is a fundamental betrayal of the people, and I voted NO. Shame on every member of Congress who voted to deny a child their medication or to tear away life-saving cancer treatment. The people deserve so much better, and this fight isn't over.
I'm a SNAP recipient... for the last month I was tightening my belt, doing my best to eat cheaper and eating less so I'd have a little left over to help get me through when payments were cut. It was all for nothing. Fuck the dems who supported this.
Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social · 9mo agoI received this email about Democrats caving to end the shutdown from one of the SNAP recipients I spoke to:
So we’ll know by Wednesday just what extreme this administration wants to take to starve people and punish states for trying to help them.
Steve Vladeck@stevevladeck.bsky.social · 9mo agoAt 11:54 p.m. ET, the First Circuit *denied* the Trump administration's request for a stay pending appeal in the SNAP case. #SCOTUS now has 48 hours (so, through 11:54 p.m. on Tuesday) to either grant the same relief or extend the "administrative stay" entered by Justice Jackson on Friday night.
