Trump says millions are ‘lifted’ off SNAP. A Charlotte nonprofit says hunger hasn’t gone away in NC

Boxes and tractor trailers loaded with donated food move quickly through volunteers’ hands inside a Charlotte warehouse where frozen meat, fresh produce, and cartons of eggs are distributed when they’re available. This is where families come when groceries run out—sooner than later.

So when President Donald Trump said during his State of the Union address that his administration had “lifted 2.4 million Americans—a record—off of food stamps” in one year, the comment landed differently here.

“I would maybe push back on the word lifted,” said Tina Postel, CEO of Nourish Up, which runs a network of food pantries across Mecklenburg County.

“Lifted, to me, means helping and offering a hand up instead of a handout,” she said. “What we’re experiencing from people that now need our services—they haven’t been lifted away from SNAP benefits, they’ve had their SNAP benefits dragged away from them. So having something dragged away from you feels a bit different than having something ‘lifted’ away from you.”