Well, the so-called American Dream has turned into the American Nightmare for many of us. My husband has worked for the same company for 20 years. I’ve spent my career serving this community through nonprofit work and volunteer service. Yet, somehow, we still can’t afford to get by in today’s economy — and somehow, that’s seen as our fault.

I have been a resident of Rowan County since 2001. I’m a wife and a mother of three children. The Salisbury Post recently asked what disruptions in SNAP benefits mean for families like mine. I want to say — look no further than the comments under that post.

Not receiving our monthly food stamps doesn’t just make it harder to put food on the table. It also reveals why so many families live in fear right here in our own county. Reading those comments was disheartening. We have to share a community with people who believe SNAP recipients are lazy, undeserving or should simply “suffer because that’s the American way.”

Well, the so-called American Dream has turned into the American Nightmare for many of us. My husband has worked for the same company for 20 years. I’ve spent my career serving this community through nonprofit work and volunteer service. Yet, somehow, we still can’t afford to get by in today’s economy — and somehow, that’s seen as our fault.

It doesn’t seem to matter that families like mine are facing real food insecurity. Thankfully, there are still beacons of hope — organizations like Happy Roots, which teaches sustainability and helps the community grow its own food, and Main Street Market, which uses a tiered pricing system to make local, healthy foods more accessible. Our family even makes an hour-long round trip to the FeedNC pantry in Mooresville to fill the gap.

But it’s devastating to read cruel and dismissive comments online — to see that kind of rhetoric coming from our own neighbors. I’ll admit, I’m not perfect. I’ve said things online I regret. But never when it comes to food access. We all eat, in one way or another. And I will never judge how someone puts food on their table.

This isn’t a competition over who’s struggled more, or a nostalgic story about how people “used to get by.” This is about basic human rights — rights that are being stripped away by the very government the majority voted for.

Families like mine deserve dignity, not judgment. Food is not a privilege. It’s a human right.

Bianca Muñoz