waltondana+FollowWhen My SNAP Card Showed Only $3.14I wanted to buy a can of cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie filling for a simple Thanksgiving dinner. But at checkout, the screen flashed: Balance: $3.14. I froze. People behind me sighed, so I removed two items quietly. Then I learned SNAP doesn’t cover hot food when the cashier rejected my mashed potatoes. I walked them back, pretending I didn’t care. We ended up eating discounted canned turkey. My kid asked, “Why do other families get a real turkey?” “Next year,” I told him. “Next year we will too.” #SNAP #LowIncomeLife #ThanksgivingStruggles #FoodInsecurity #RealLifeUSA01Share
morrisonjoseph+FollowA $350 Rent Increase the Week Before ThanksgivingWe live in an old Denver apartment. The landlord emailed saying rent would go up by $350 next month. After recalculating our budget, Thanksgiving dinner became impossible. I told my kid, “We’ll keep it simple this year.” He asked, “Did we do something wrong?” I didn’t know how to answer. We didn’t do anything wrong—life just keeps getting more expensive. #HousingCrisis #RentIncrease #ThanksgivingStruggles #CostOfLiving #RealStories21Share
