The best restaurants are the ones feeding SNAP users

In the shutdown, we see noble instincts of the hospitality industry

- KAREN STABINER GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

IF I ASK YOu to spend even more time on Instagram, you know it must be important: Listen to JJ Johnson, the chef-owner of Fieldtrip in Harlem, who invites 100 SNAP recipients to dine for free at his little restaurant as long as their benefits are interrupted by the federal shutdown.

Or look to your own backyard, if you happen to live near Highland Park here in L.A., where restaurateur Jeff Strauss gives out grilled cheese sandwiches at Jeff's Table to anyone who asks, no proof of strife required. He serves a free pasta at Oy Bar, his place in Studio City, same deal.

The list keeps growing: When I opened my laptop early Monday morning, I got an announcement about a free to-go meal at Donna's in Echo Park.

It seems like restaurants can't win for trying, as too many of us vent our frustrations on them these days. One proud sub-population proclaims that they have abandoned dining out and can make better food at home, while a second tier merely complains about everything restaurants do.

But these businesses deserve a closer look. They are part of their communities, their owners motivated by an irrational, impractical commitment to our temporary happiness. Food trends come and go with increasing speed, but genuine hospitality will survive long after we've moved on from chili crisp. It may be eclipsed too often by the next noisy high-concept opening, but that fundamental spirit steps up at moments like these.

"When our community is in need we show up," said Johnson, who began the free food program as soon as benefits were interrupted a week and a half ago. "Come eat with us. Just show your SNAP card, no stress, no judgment."