The Racist Reason Why You Can’t Eat Nature’s Free Food

A forgotten history of how America criminalized foraging—and how those laws still enforce hunger and dependency.

After SNAP benefits paused on November 1, almost 42 million Americans lost financial support for buying groceries, and food banks across America saw the length of their lines grow. The San Antonio Food Bank was scrambling to serve 170,000 people, up from their usual 120,000. Eric Cooper, the food bank’s president, had to recruit 150 additional volunteer…