After President Trump claimed Portland was “war ravaged,” and now wanting to deploy the National Guard, its people have only been revealed to be upstanding citizens. In reality, Portland is known for its rich diversity and kind people, who continue to show what love and community looks like on social media. Now, an Oregon coffee shop is leading the charge by feeding people who lost their SNAP benefits. That doesn’t sound crime-ridden to me.
Josh White, the owner of Heretic Coffee Co. in Portland, Oregon, decided to take donations to help feed SNAP recipients. After all, should the government stay closed in November, millions of people will lose their benefits. Josh was instructed to set up a donation link on his coffee shop’s social media to help those in need. He said, “I legitimately thought we would get like a couple hundred dollars.”
Josh was completely shocked and then humbled by his community coming together. It turns out, by the end of one night, they raised over $10,000 for SNAP recipients. In the interview, he gets tears in his eyes when he says, “The total is at $86,000 that people have given to this.”
He said there are people donating various amounts of money. He mentions, “I saw one this morning for $1.17. That is someone who only has a $1.17 to give. Those are the ones that just like…they just blow my mind.”
According to Josh, it’s not just local people donating, either. He’s seen donations from as far as West Africa and Australia. As he says, “This is a global movement of humanity feeding Portland people.”
Josh notes Portland has obviously been in the news as of late with a “bad reputation” but that’s not at all how the community actually operates. It’s made up of people who come together and support one another, clearly.
“This is incredible but I really want to point out that he praised the $1.17 donation and made it feel like the world instead of making it feel insignificant or not enough. This man is truly grateful,” said a viewer in the comments.
“Everyone working to help feed Americans except our own government,” another argued.
What’s disturbing is that the Trump Administration has the power to help its people, using SNAP’s contingency reserve. However, they refuse to use it, claiming it isn’t “legally available,” yet the law says otherwise. If a resolution isn’t made, and the Trump Administration doesn’t use SNAP’s reserves, 1 in 8 people will be without benefits. In other words: people could starve.
