Sarah Bowen
@sarahkbowen.bsky.social
Sociologist at NC State who studies food and food systems. I wrote a book about tequila, and another one about cooking. Now writing a book about food insecurity.
I love the Smitten Kitchen and this profile so much. Also proud to say that I was reading Deb’s blog before it even became a cooking blog… pre-2006!
Jaya Saxena@jayasaxena.com · 4d agoICYMI this week, I profiled Deb Perelman and wrote about 20 years of Smitten Kitchen and food blogging. Very happy with this one! www.weareravenous.com/smitten-kitc...
If you saw the earthquake in Colombia and thought “how can I help?” Donate to WCK. They have boots on the ground now.
World Central Kitchen@wck.org · last wk.COLOMBIA UPDATE: A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck today. WCK mobilized immediately. Alejandro is on the ground in Manizales, leading our first food and water distribution for communities impacted across the region. We will keep you posted as the situation develops. #ChefsForColombia
Others are arguing for a clean two-year delay. Fine. But I need to be clear: A farm bill that does not restore full federal funding for SNAP benefits isn't worth the paper it's marked up on. The cost shift onto states under OBBBA is a mistake. Fix it. www.hamiltonproject.org/publication/...
SNAP cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will significantly impair recession response - The Hamilton Project
Lauren Bauer and Diane Schanzenbach analyze how SNAP cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will affect the program’s response to recessions.
hamiltonproject.org
Exactly this. People who want SNAP caseloads to return to where they were 25 years ago should probably explain why they want a highly effective & efficient anti-hunger program to reach a much smaller share of the people who need it.
Pam Herd@pamherd.bsky.social · 4w agoThe NYT piece notes SNAP use doubled since the early 2000s to explain cuts. But SNAP take up was artificially low. In the 90s ~80% of the eligible received benefits. This dropped to 52% by 2002. Bush admin worked on it. We were back at ~90%. We're about to see take-up among the eligible plummet.
Real people, real lives, consequences that will last generations. 👇🏼
Heba Gowayed هبة جويد@hebagowayed.bsky.social · last mo.A Haitian friend lives is terror as the July 24 deadline for termination of TPS looms. He smiles as he always does but can’t help but look pained, “they will start deportations” he said. This is a man my son runs to from across the street to hug. Not sure how to raise him in this cruel world.
I do think pinning this on specifically Taco Bell is weird since many confirmed cases aren’t people who ate at Taco Bell at all and we know the actual source—Taylor Farms—distributes lettuce and other produce to many, many other large food businesses
Taco Bell Quarterly@tacobellquarterly.org · last mo.The Taco Bell finger pointing is a psyop to redirect attention from the real culprit, the deregulation and lack of oversight in our food supply
Just submitted my comment on the new OMB rules for federal grants. Thanks to @fabbs.org for all the helpful resources. 🧪 You still have time to make your voice heard! The comment deadline is Monday July 13th at 11:59pm. fabbs.org/fabbs-omb-co...
FABBS OMB COMMENT TOOLKIT – FABBS
On May 29, 2026, OMB published a proposed rule to update the Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance, which are government-wide policies and requirements rela
fabbs.org
Looking forward to reading this study. @sarahkbowen.bsky.social and I found something similar in our work - when lower-income caregivers ran low on SNAP, meat was often the first thing to go, leaving them to fill their pantry with cheaper options like ramen. It wasn't a choice, but a necessity.
UVM Food Systems Research Institute@food-systems-uvm.bsky.social · 2mo agoWho Gets to Choose a Plant‑Based Diet? New research from Saadatu Abdul-Rahaman challenges the idea that plant‑based eating is always a choice. For many socially disadvantaged populations, plant‑based diets are not driven by preference or principle, but by constraint. www.uvm.edu/ovpr/food-sy...
Unhinged response from USDA, basically saying “it doesn’t matter if we take away food from hungry children because they can get other help” 🤡🤡🤡🤡
Katie Bergh@katiebergh.bsky.social · 2mo agoThis is quite a response to data showing that the number of children receiving food assistance has plummeted since the deepest SNAP cuts in history were signed into law last summer. www.propublica.org/article/snap...
This is awful. I had a bad feeling about this. I have been thinking about Raúl all day.
Katherine T. Tyson@katherinettyson.bsky.social · 3mo ago@raulpachecovega.bsky.social death is under investigation as there were reported signs of violence. Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega deserved so much better. I hope justice is served. Original spanish article: www.am.com.mx/leon/2026/06... English translation: www-am-com-mx.translate.goog/leon/2026/06...
One of the good ones in our field bsky.app/profile/raul...
Raul Pacheco-Vega@raulpachecovega.bsky.social · 3mo agoReceiving these kinds of emails never gets old. I provide public goods to fellow academics, students and society in general largely because I strive to create a better, more humane and human academic environment.This is from a few years ago. To this day, I keep getting these emails. Really happy.
I am so shocked and saddened by this news. Raúl Pacheco-Vega was such a generous and kind person, supporting and offering his wisdom to so many people, far and near. This is just awful. Que descanse en paz.
harmodio@harmodio.bsky.social · 3mo agoBuen camino, profe Raúl Pacheco Vega. Fuiste y serás siempre el investigador más chido.
Of all the harm this administration has done to US science, today's proposed changes to the way federal grants are awarded and administered is the most damaging yet. The text of the federal register document is impenetrably tedious by design, so here's an excellent summary of what it says.
elizabethginexi.bsky.social@elizabethginexi.bsky.social · 3mo agoSummary of Key Changes in OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule. Russell Vought is going destroy American Science. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/summary-of...
They are really trying to make it impossible to say, "Well, all this hasn't affected my daily life."
Bryce Covert@brycecovert.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe Trump administration is about to allow swine and poultry processing plants to vastly speed up their lines. That will make the companies more money while leading to far more worker injuries and food illness outbreaks. newrepublic.com/article/2102...
TWO grants have gone out this year from the NSF Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences— 2! An average of 797 per yeae were granted in previous years.
Dan Garisto@dangaristo.bsky.social · 3mo agoBut not all directorates are getting grants out the door. SBE is still stuck at 2 (two) new grants and STEM Education isn't much further along.
I think letting SNAP recipients have hot rotisserie chicken is good, actually.
US voters worried about high food prices in 2024. This admin has: 1) taxed food & fertilizer imports 2) deported farmworkers 3) canceled food/climate investments 4) started a war that spiked energy/fertilizer prices 5) increased crop-based biofuel mandates 6) released dietary guidance centering meat
The farm bill scheduled for a House floor vote this week does nothing to address this unfolding crisis — and could make it worse by providing sweeping authority for states to outsource core SNAP eligibility functions to private companies with minimal oversight.
Katie Bergh@katiebergh.bsky.social · 4mo agoNew USDA data released today: H.R. 1 enacted the deepest SNAP cuts in history last July. By January, more than 3 million fewer people were receiving food assistance. Nationwide, SNAP caseloads fell by more than 8% in just 6 months — despite no improvement in economic conditions.
More details on the firing of the National Science Board. The NSF now has no director, deputy director, or board. They have issued almost no new awards in 2026. The plan appears to be to completely destroyed the agency. The details are horrifying and have Russ Vought written all over them.
Board Ouster Raises Further Concerns About NSF’s Future
The White House axed all members of the board overseeing the National Science Foundation Friday, leaving the agency with no board, director or deputy director. It finally provided a reason Monday afte...
insidehighered.com
In July, Trump enacted the largest cuts to food assistance in US history. Then he indefinitely cancelled the survey that measures hunger in America. Meanwhile, official data show the number of people who receive food assistance in America plummeting. Reminder: OBBBA took food from hungry children
YES. We’ve heard a lot about this in our interviews with food-insecure moms over the years. Rotisserie chicken is easy, healthy, and relatively cheap. Not allowing people to use their SNAP benefits to buy it seems like needless punishment.
The Associated Press@apnews.com · 4mo agoA bipartisan group of senators has introduced the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act to allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to purchase hot rotisserie chicken with their benefits.
This is an important and comprehensive report on the institutions that dominate the fancy fellowships. It’s worse than I thought. And the changes in federal funding will only exacerbate these inequalities. Private foundations are in some cases the only ones funding critical scholarship.
Dominique Baker@bakerdphd.bsky.social · 4mo agoWoohoo, here's my essay with my fav co-author on 30,000 fellowship wins across the Guggenheim, Stanford CASBS, NAEd, National Humanities Center, RSF visiting scholar, and Harvard Radcliffe. Spoiler: it's the people working at prestigious universities www.publicbooks.org/who-gets-gug...
SBES – social, behavioral, and economic sciences – goes to ZERO in 2027. That’s STS, sociology, anthropology, as well as economics. NSF led by a business guy affiliated with Peter Thiel. just a swathe of fucking napalm across the board. No words. We had better win this damn election.
Cole Donovan@colesci.bsky.social · 5mo agoGiving folks a sense of what the cuts to NSF funding in the 2027 President's Budget Request actually looks like. Note the significant cuts across domains--even to research security! STEM and NCSES aren't captured for prior years, so they appear to be cuts, even though they are not.
BREAKING: In response to huge cuts in Trump's budget request, NSF is shuttering its SBE directorate. Staff will be transferred to other parts of the agency and "grants that align with Administration priorities" will be maintained. That & more w/ @maxkozlov.bsky.social & @edwrdchen.bsky.social
Massive budget cuts for US science proposed again by Trump administration
Budget proposal would also curb federal payments for scientific publishing.
nature.com
People are making fun of the shoe thing, and for good reason, but it's also terrifying: If Trump's cabinet and advisors are too afraid to tell him he didn't guess their shoe size correctly, they are certainly too afraid to tell him the truth about the war.
Drew(bacca)@cybogoblin.bsky.social · 5mo agoIt gets better. Here's Vance and Rubio in the Oval Office...
Given the endlessly recurring claim that poor people are often spending their SNAP benefits on steak and lobster (not true), it’s ironic that the federal government is spending $23 MILLION on… steak and lobster. Another “let them eat cake” moment.
Sloan Ashton@ashton7sloan.bsky.social · 5mo agoUnder the stewardship of an alcoholic TV host, this is how the Department of Defense is spending our tax dollars:
In FY2022 the federal government spent $21 billion on universal free school meals (breakfast and lunch) to K-12 students across our whole beautiful country from sea to shining sea for the whole year. That’s like 3 weeks worth of this stuff 👇🏻
Leah McElrath@leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 6mo agoPreliminary Pentagon cost estimate of the war in Iran is $1 BILLION a day. So far.
PEPFAR, the program to stop hundreds of thousands of children and adults from dying of HIV/AIDS, was $6.5 billion a year.
Leah McElrath@leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 6mo agoPreliminary Pentagon cost estimate of the war in Iran is $1 BILLION a day. So far.
