BALTIMORE—When it comes to creating meals for her family, Jenna Crocker recently turned to ChatGPT for assistance, seeking dinner ideas that could feed her, her fiancé, and her 13-year-old daughter using just an onion, three sweet potatoes, green beans, and biscuits.
Crocker, a 37-year-old resident of Cherry Hill in South Baltimore, finds herself needing to be resourceful to manage her household expenses. She has been enrolled in a nutrition assistance program since March to help supplement her income from her minimum-wage job at a local café. However, the assistance is not always dependable.
“Most single parents would prefer to work, live comfortably, and be there for their kids,” Crocker explained. “We often face difficult choices between securing housing and relying on the school system to help raise our children into successful adults.”
Recently, concerns have grown regarding federal funding for programs like SNAP that millions of Americans depend on for basic necessities.
This has been a whirlwind month. SNAP benefits were poised to expire on November 1st, and while a federal judge mandated full food benefit payments, the President countered by stating that these benefits “will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government,” as he posted on his social media platform.
Some Americans have continued to receive SNAP benefits via state funding, including residents of Maryland, where Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency. After a small group of Democratic senators approved a funding measure to reopen the government on a recent Monday night, Trump signed a funding package that ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
However, for the 42 million Americans who receive monthly SNAP benefits, the situation remains uncertain.
“We remain very concerned on several fronts,” said Craig Rice, CEO of Manna Food Center, which assists those in need in Montgomery County. “We still lack clarity on how much money will be credited to people’s cards and which entities will provide it.”
Like many other SNAP beneficiaries, Crocker grapples with uncertainty about whether and when she will receive this month’s benefits.
After her exchange with ChatGPT, she discovered two chicken thighs in her freezer and decided to utilize the sweet potatoes and onions in her air fryer. This allowed her to prepare a wholesome meal that met all the necessary nutritional standards, including carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
Typically, Crocker receives $536 on her SNAP benefit card each month. Yet this time, only $355 was loaded into her account—just under 70% of her usual balance. To shop for groceries, she faces a choice: a 15-minute bus ride to the nearest Harris Teeter or a 20-minute drive to ALDI.
However, driving to the grocery store feels like a luxury. For several days each month, if they can muster the funds, Crocker and her fiancé rent a car, which allows them to drive to the grocery store, food bank, and laundromat.
When relying solely on public transportation, she opts to shop at Harris Teeter and Dollar Tree.
“If I need to take the bus, I usually go to Harris Teeter because their store brand is affordable and helps me prepare better meals. As we near the end of the month and our food stamps run low, Dollar Tree becomes a more viable option,” Crocker shared.
To reach ALDI utilizing public transport, Crocker must take two different buses, making her journey to the store nearly an hour long.
Despite her struggle to provide for herself and her daughter, Crocker has become a community activist in Cherry Hill, particularly since she lives near two abandoned school buildings.
As the events coordinator for “We the People United for Change,” a nonprofit in Baltimore, Crocker has submitted a proposal to convert the vacant properties into a community resource hub, adult education center, and affordable housing.
Crocker believes that higher education opportunities must be prioritized. She recounted an experience at the Cherry Hill library where she saw an elderly man struggling to fill out an online application.
“He couldn’t even operate a computer mouse,” Crocker recalled. “Why aren’t there resources available to empower community members to improve their lives? People need skills. Establishing adult education programs would create the opportunity for a vocational-technical school.”
She also proposed the idea of a community fridge in Cherry Hill, but this concept was dismissed by local leaders.
“They argued it would attract ‘homeless individuals and drug addicts,’” she said. “But the truth is, those individuals are already here—and they are still hungry.”
“At the end of the day, any community organization or group should prioritize the needs of the community first,” Crocker emphasized. “Having a community fridge could significantly help mitigate food insecurity.”
Crocker feels a strong obligation to give back to her community and instill that same motivation in others.
“If I learned anything from my mom, it’s to work hard for what you have and give back,” she said.
Over the past 15 years, Crocker has juggled multiple jobs, attended night school, and had minimal time at home—all too common challenges faced by single mothers.
“I hope my children understand that my efforts were to provide for them, so they wouldn’t lack anything,” she stated.
