Op-ed. The ugliness under SNAP’s veil and the beauty of sharing our food: The goodness of people’s hearts and willingness show up for each other is good soil that grows community and builds democracy. The Contrarian

I’ve never seen the threat of hunger hit the headlines in every American news outlet, including late-night comedy, the way it did in the past few weeks. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was interesting only to policy wonks and a handful of public health professionals like me. Now, it’s central to the discussion of the ever-growing ineptitude of the current administration. I struggled to get people to pay attention to SNAP. Now, I’ve been inundated with press inquiries: “What is SNAP?” “What are the implications of withholding SNAP payments?” and so on. But I wish I could get to what I really want to talk about: How our government’s moral decrepitude is sparking a revolution of values based on compassion and care.

Op-ed. Food is not the hunger-ending hero we think it is: The world has enough food. It's who controls the food that's the problem. The Contrarian

Food has a role to play in ending hunger. But it’s not the hero people think it is. The main cause of modern hunger is not lack of food. Rather, hunger is caused by greed and hate.

This cruelty is not hard to pinpoint. Israel and the United States are giving us a master class in how greed and hate make people go hungry, get sick, and die early.

Mariana Chilton, Sept. 9, 2025

Op-ed. The Monster Behind the Big Beautiful Bill: Rich people’s insatiable hunger will make the rest of us hungrier The Contrarian

The Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) is Congress’s biggest blow to America. With JD Vance having laid his finger on the scales toward cruelty, Republicans are plundering the bellies and bodies of regular people by stealing billions from SNAP and Medicaid.

Mariana Chilton, July 24, 2025

Op-ed. The Destructive Legacy of Mass Starvation Project Syndicate

(link above to a PDF behind a paywall - or click here.

To understand the consequences of mass starvation in Gaza, one need look no further than the United States, where a history of slavery and genocide has triggered cycles of racism and discrimination that continue today. This is reflected in significantly higher rates of food insecurity among communities of color.

Mariana Chilton, Oct. 15, 2024

Op-ed. Joe Biden's Philabundance Photo-Op Wouldn't Impress Dr. King Philadelphia Inquirer

Mariana Chilton, Jan. 19, 2021

Op-ed. Jazmine Headley’s Arrest Exposes the Punitive Design of Public Assistance. The Nation.

Mariana Chilton, Dec. 14, 2018