A number of restaurants near me are offering

[PCIntern]

to give free meals to anyone who comes with a SNAP CARD. This is wonderful.

[Nittersing]

1. I'm seeing the same near me.

[Diamond_Dog]

2. Same here. At least there are some good people left in this world.

[Grim Chieftain]

3. Wonderful

When it seems the country is being dismantled before our eyes, it's good to be reminded there are angels among us.

[LisaM]

4. It's wonderful that people do this.

However, it's terrible that we got to this point.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Wow, how good of those restaurants! Talk about helping when it's most needed. Blessings on them. n/t

[gilpo]

6. We supported one in our area last night by having dinner there n/t

[IbogaProject]

7. My good friend from Middle School founded a modern food charity during COVID

It is called Feed the Fridge, and the idea is traditional pantries give uncooked food wheras a majority of the margionally housed lack kitchen facilities. So during COVID he conceived of a charity to supply prepared ready to eat meals in a grab in go fashion with public facing refridgerators. https://feedthefridge.org/ in the Washingtion DC area.

His start with this issue was he has been doing turkey deep frys on Thanksgiving at the DC football stadium, since many homeless can't cook after being given a frozen turkey.

[AllaN01Bear]

8. eggscllent. although i am watching a court case that a jugde has said whoa , hold on there pardner.

[MichMan]

9. Wonder if those who take them up on it will leave a decent tip?

[Skittles]

10. THIS is what you think of?

sounds so......conservative

[MichMan]

11. How much is 20% of zero?

Sorry, I like servers to be tipped appropriately.

[jfz9580m]

12. I was really sad to read these stories

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/air-traffic-controllers-are-taking-side-gigs-government-shutdown-rcna239309

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/government-shutdown-airport-delays-air-traffic-controllers-second-job-rcna240111

As an air traffic controller, Criss told Jansing that “safety is paramount” and that he’s learned to “compartmentalize” the stress so it doesn’t affect him at work. “You have to take your stress and shove it to the corner,” he said.

“Can different people do that better than others? Sure. Will some people have slippage? Perhaps, but you’ll never hear me say, or anybody in this industry say, that safety is compromised. I will always stand on safety, and I will always promote a safety culture,” he said.

On the weekends, Criss is clocking eight or nine hours driving for DoorDash, he said. It’s a schedule he intends to keep until the government reopens.

He wants politicians to find common ground so he and his colleagues can return to work and pay their bills. In an already stressful position, Criss admitted it’s even harder to keep his cool.

“Well, how do you control your emotions when you don’t really know when you're going to freaking get another paycheck?” he asked

That guy is awesome. I am not American and don’t live in the US, but I am genuinely sorry to read this. Don’t worry MTG, Ramaswamy etc ..it’s not a cunning ploy to sneak into the US as a mule or whatever that ct was. I am not a foreign plant, bot or political influencer and have no intention of ever coming to the US.

It’s just a human feeling. I am fond of the country where I got my doctorate and found my scientific field of choice. And at a personal level I always found most Americans decent (including blue collar MAGA - or rather predecessors to MAGA). And this is sad to see.

Chauncey DeVega had another excellent column about it. I only came across his work earlier this year, but he is a reliably sane voice:

https://www.salon.com/2025/11/01/stop-asking-whos-winning-the-shutdown/

With Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits expiring today, and the start of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the real world pain created by the shutdown is coming into full view. More than 42 million Americans, which includes the elderly, children and disabled, could be wondering where they will get their next meal.Over a million federal employees are experiencing extreme hardship because they have not been paid. According to estimates by health research organization KFF, ACA premiums will skyrocket by 26% on average in 2026, and with enhanced premium tax credits set to expire due to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, “enrollees [will] face even sharper increases.”

The average American does not have $1,000 in case of an emergency. This means they do not have the resources to weather a week without income, never mind the nearly five weeks the government shutdown has already lasted. Even if these workers are lucky enough to receive backpay, it will not fully offset the financial, emotional and other harm they have suffered.

Most employees who have been furloughed by the federal government are members of the professional and middle classes. These are “the makers” and not “the takers,” “welfare queens” and “parasites” with which the right-wing has historically been so obsessed. Among them is an air traffic controller, a single parent, who has been forced to take a second job as a DoorDash driver to support his child.

Really sad.