Don’t Let Them Eat Cake: Oh SNAP, Florida!

Florida lawmakers are once again using low-income families as pawns in their ongoing war against the poor. Beginning next year, Florida’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will prohibit purchases of soda, candy, and—yes—even birthday cakes. This move, pushed under the guise of “health” and “responsibility,” reveals less about nutrition policy and more about a growing culture of cruelty, where punishing struggling families has become a political sport.

The Birthday Cake Debate

Social media has lit up with outrage over the idea that children might be denied a birthday cake because their parents rely on SNAP. Rebekah Jones summed it up well: “Every child deserves a birthday cake no matter their parents’ income status, and if you don’t agree, you’re a monster.” She’s right. Childhood joy shouldn’t be conditional on whether a family is poor enough to qualify for food assistance.

Defenders of the ban argue that families can simply “bake a cake from scratch.” But as many SNAP recipients have pointed out, the cost of flour, eggs, oil, milk, and even a cheap mixer quickly adds up—often making a pre-made cake from a grocery store cheaper and far less time-consuming. In other words: this restriction isn’t about health, it’s about control.

The Bigger Picture: Fascism in Disguise

But here’s the truth: whether or not someone can buy soda or cake with SNAP is the least of our concerns under Florida’s march toward authoritarianism. These restrictions are symbolic—another way to stigmatize and surveil poor people while leaving the wealthy untouched. No one is proposing bans on country club menus, yacht liquor cabinets, or corporate subsidies for industries that poison our air and water.

This is the hallmark of creeping fascism: distract the public with small, moralized debates (“Should poor kids have cake?”) while bigger assaults on democracy, human rights, and freedom rage on. Florida families aren’t just fighting for birthday candles—they’re fighting against laws that censor teachers, strip away reproductive rights, target immigrants, and gut public services.

SNAP Isn’t the Problem—Poverty Is

Let’s be clear: SNAP doesn’t create poverty. SNAP doesn’t force people into low-wage jobs, skyrocketing rents, or predatory healthcare costs. SNAP is a lifeline in a state where millions are already being crushed by policies designed to keep them desperate. Limiting what families can buy doesn’t change the conditions that make them need SNAP in the first place.

What We Should Really Be Talking About

Instead of obsessing over whether a child gets a slice of cake, Florida should be addressing:

• Living wages so families don’t need SNAP in the first place.

• Affordable housing so families aren’t forced to choose between rent and groceries.

• Universal healthcare so a medical bill doesn’t wipe out a family’s food budget.

• Corporate accountability so billion-dollar companies can’t exploit workers while taxpayers foot the bill for food assistance.

The SNAP restrictions are cruel, yes. But they’re also a distraction. The real crisis is not candy bars and soda—it’s an economy and political system designed to keep working-class families struggling while the rich consolidate power.

And if we don’t recognize that, we risk arguing over cake while democracy burns.