You can erase the data, but you can’t erase me
Among the many assaults leveled toward everyday people by the Trump Administration is the recent cancellation of the Household Food Security Survey. This data is critical for understanding hunger in America and the need for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Both programs are also under attack by the White House. We cannot rely on data alone to guide the movement to end poverty. Information can be manipulated, defunded, or eliminated. Now is the time to put lived experience at the forefront of shaping solutions.
I witnessed this shift firsthand when I traveled to Washington, D.C., with a remarkable group of advocates: the Experts on Poverty (EOPs) from RESULTS. Seven parents and community leaders, along with eight of their children, came together to mark the program’s 10th anniversary and meet with members of Congress and the press.
They weren’t there because of academic pedigrees or think tank résumés. They were there because they know poverty from the inside out. They’ve used SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, Section 8, and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and know exactly where these programs succeed and fail families.
I know this because I’ve lived it too. My family experienced poverty and homelessness repeatedly while my mom worked full time. Later, when my son was born with a rare condition that required complex care, Medicaid was the only reason he could access the services he needed.
Without it, I could not have kept working to support my family. These programs are not abstract policies. They are the difference between stability and despair.
That’s why it was so powerful to see the EOPs speak directly to lawmakers and journalists. Clara Moore of Newark, New Jersey, met with her representative to discuss the CTC. Nineteen million children are excluded from the full benefit because their parents aren’t paid enough. She explained how the expanded 2021 CTC helped stabilize her housing and reduce stress for her family, turning a personal story into a sharp policy argument.
Candace Baker of Indianapolis, who works for a food bank serving young families, shared what she’s seeing on the ground. “The work requirements for SNAP and now Medicaid have added so many complications that some families are giving up on applying altogether,” she said. Parents tell her, “I’ll just go to the food pantry, it’s easier.”
Pantry lines are growing longer, and people still leave without enough food to get through the week. One mom she works with, making $17.85 an hour, is pregnant and considering adoption. Not because she doesn’t want her baby, but because she can’t afford to keep her family together. No parent should ever have to make that kind of choice.
They weren’t there to confront. They were there to connect. Too often, families struggling with food prices, housing costs, or medical bills feel invisible in political debates. The work of these advocates reminds us that democracy is strongest when those most impacted by policy choices lead the conversation.
As EOP Maureen Bowling of Kentucky reflected after the Summit, advocacy works best when it comes from the heart: “Every voice matters, every story matters, and together we can continue to weave a tapestry that represents all of our truths and all of our beautiful possibilities.”
Decision-makers cannot continue treating the needs of working families as bargaining chips. They need to listen to parents like Clara, Candace, Maureen, and the other Experts on Poverty. The next week, three national media stories featured the EOPs, putting the spotlight where it belongs: on families who rely on SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, and the CTC.
If our democracy is to mean anything, it must be shaped by those who have lived poverty and understand its realities. The challenges are great, but the power of constituents to shape a more just and compassionate future is even greater.
As the Experts on Poverty remind us: you can erase the data, but you can’t erase me.
