Eat Free or Die

Examining the personal thrill and political power of free food

A sign outside the church during a food distribution at the Salem United Methodist Church in Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania, in July. It was the first food distribution for the church, an effort to fill a gap in the coverage of food pantries in the area and as a response to the increased need because of the pandemic. Photo: Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Sure, the general principle of an opportunity cost — that getting one thing we desire means giving up another we also desire — seems ironclad. Yet, whenever someone invokes this adage it’s always a finger-wagging naysayer with one pithy message: You don’t…