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Is 2025 the year we donate our holidays? 

Updated: Nov 5

On October 1, the federal government shut down. Since then, about 730,000 federal workers have  been working without pay and about 670,000 have been laid off. On November 1, the government’s SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) will run out of money. Nearly 42 million people will lose their food benefits. In addition to this, thousands of immigrant families have been impacted by ICE roundups which have meant that one more more wage earners have either been detained by ICE, making  them unable to support their families, or they are in hiding from ICE, making them unable to support their families. This comes at a time when prices are high for food and other items, and, if the federal government votes to pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA, H.R. 1), millions of Americans will experience exponentially high health care premiums and be kicked off their health insurance. People will die as a result of these policies.   


I was reading Little Women recently with my 9 year old when we came to the part where the March family Christmas was light one year because Father was fighting in the Civil War and they each only had one present. Sacrifices were made. 


Increasing American prosperity has meant that many Americans have not known what it means to sacrifice. The stories of the Great Depression and World War II exist only in the memories of our aging parents or grandparents and in the black-and-white photos of the past. Many Hollistonians—many Americans—have never known true poverty. But historically, Americans have been taught to sacrifice for a war effort, that it was our patriotic duty to go with less, or go without, to support America’s valiant efforts at defending freedom. 


We are at war now; a war against cruelty and a fight for the rights of basic humanity and compassion. We may feel powerless, as if the only thing we can do is bury our heads in sorrow and shame and bring our loved ones close to protect them and them only. We may feel like the best thing we can do right now is make the holidays as magical as always, and not let our children know of the precarious nature of the world around us—because it seems like the autocrats have amassed too much power and wealth, and all we can do is weather the storm as individuals. 


But they forgot that when they sold us capitalism as the best economic system in the world, synonymous with freedom itself, that they also handed us the keys to take the power away. This country runs on the assumption that enough people will always buy things. No matter how bad things get, you can expect those economic spending spikes during the predictable times of year. What if we took that away? What if we said, this holiday season, we just bought one present for each person? What if we simplified and whatever we would normally spend on our gifts and parties, we instead offered up to those who have been the victims of these cruel policies? What would it be like to know that our sacrifice for material things meant that another family got to eat for a week? Or could afford their medication? In my family I am simultaneously grateful we can give our children things, and also faced with the double edged sword that they are growing up entitled and ungrateful. The best part of the gift is the excitement they get when they first open it. And then it fades. We made past Christmas mornings magical, but many of those gifts will now sit unused and end in the donation bin. What a gift it would be to give our children the experience of sacrifice, of compassion and generosity, and of knowing that they have the power to assuage the suffering of others. How might that fill them up in ways that more material things do not?


What if we simultaneously boycotted all the major companies who have supported or capitulated to this administration while funneling all of that cash to help our fellow humans survive? What power. They won’t pass policies or fund programs that help people with their basic human needs, and so we will do it instead. 


What would it look like to do that in Holliston? What if we traded as much as we could on Facebook marketplace, bought simple gifts from local stores, and donated cash to the Holliston Food Pantry? What if we wove together a safety net using our collective hope and love? 


Resources for those impacted by food and benefit shortages

Below is a list of organizations and resources where individuals can find help—or offer support to others:

  • Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline: Call 1-800-645-8333 for immediate help finding food resources in your area.Visit Project Bread

  • Mass 2-1-1: Dial 2-1-1 to connect with local services, including food assistance, housing support, and utility help.

  • Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA): For updates on SNAP benefits (formerly Food Stamps) and related programs. Visit DTA’s SNAP page

  • Mass Legal Services: For up-to-date information about the shutdown’s impact on low-income families and federal benefits. Federal Shutdown: What to Know for Massachusetts Families


Regional Food Banks


Local and Community-Based Resources


Find more local resources at the Holliston Food Security Resource Team's website.


Please also consider helping your immigrant neighbors with food, legal help, and school transportation by donating to or volunteering with the Metrowest Worker Center, or CASA, a metrowest immigrant worker-led organization, which organizes to defend and expand the labor, civil, and human rights of all workers.


Together, our collective generosity and sacrifice can help ensure that no one in our community goes hungry this holiday season.

 
 
 

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