Add Passion and Stir

Omaha Mayor John Ewing, Hastings, NE organizer Sierra Edmisten, and Bellevue, NE SNAP career navigator Alicia Fremont about food insecurity, poverty, SNAP cuts, and the pressure families face when groceries, school meals, child care, and work requirements collide.Mayor Ewing shares how Omaha mobilized after SNAP benefits were cut, raising $15 million to support food banks and pantries while investing in community gardens and weekend food programs for children. Edmisten and Fremont describe the lived reality behind the numbers: parents skipping meals, children recognizing when food is running low, families losing benefits over paperwork or income thresholds, and the lasting trauma of not knowing how to feed a family.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why are millions of Americans losing SNAP food assistance—even when many remain eligible?In this episode of Add Passion and Stir, host Billy Shore speaks with Jason DeParle, poverty correspondent for The New York Times, and Sharon Parrott, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, about the sharp decline in SNAP participation, new administrative barriers, and the human consequences for children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities.DeParle shares reporting from Arizona, where SNAP participation has fallen by about half in one year and families describe hours-long waits, unanswered calls, and paperwork requirements that prevent eligible people from receiving food assistance. Parrott explains how changes in federal policy are shifting SNAP costs to states, creating new incentives to reduce enrollment and raising concerns that some states could ultimately end the program altogether.They also discuss the connection between food insecurity and mental health, the risks to Medicaid and ACA marketplace coverage, the impact on immigrant families, and what listeners can do to make policymakers understand the stakes.Listen to this urgent conversation about SNAP, hunger, food assistance, poverty, public policy, and the choices shaping who can afford groceries in America.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this very special repeat episode of Add Passion and Stir, Billy Shore and Debbie Shore speak with attorney Corey Martin and former DHS attorney Jason Thomas about immigration detention, due process, and what humane policy should look like. In the five months since this episode first aired, more than an additional 140,000 people have been detained by ICE, according to The Deportation Data Project at UC Berkeley and UCLA.Corey reveals the horrifying conditions she has seen inside the immigration detention center for families and children at Dilley, TX. Jason explains how the immigration system works from the government side, and both push for a more just, practical, and human response. To be part of the solution, learn more at the nonprofit law clinic Mass Deportation Defense.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this very important re-airing of Add Passion and Stir, Navyn Salem, founder and CEO of the malnutrition social enterprise Edesia, discusses our shared humanity in caring for children all over the world. Edesia produces fortified, peanut-based products like Plumpy'Nut for humanitarian agencies like UNICEF, World Food Programme, and other NGOs working in emergency and conflict zones.“We feed children everywhere because that's what humanity is, and we do not want to lose our humanity. We are smart enough. We have enough resources. We're creative and innovative enough to feed every child on planet Earth,” Salem asserts.Edesia has been impacted by Trump Administration decisions around foreign aid in the last seven months. “I started speaking up and explaining to people that huge parts of humanitarian assistance that the US government does are a win-win for the world and they have to be continued,” she says.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tony Spring, chairman and CEO of Macy’s, discusses his career path that began at Bloomingdale’s and led to more than 40 years in retail leadership. Tony reflects on the lessons he learned from Burger King, the importance of customer experience, and how Macy’s has worked to rebuild around hospitality, execution, and culture.The conversation also explores Macy’s partnership with Share Our Strength and No Kid Hungry, including how the company uses consumer roundups, employee volunteerism, and community campaigns to help fight childhood hunger. Listen to hear how business, service, and social purpose can work together to create a better experience for customers, colleagues, and communities.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.