She Was Tasked to Fight Hunger. Now, This Black Woman is Refusing to Eat Until Her State Acts

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey appointed Liz Wills-O’Gilvie to fight hunger. Now, Wills-O’Gilvie is going hungry herself, demanding action as thousands of the state’s residents risk losing access to SNAP benefits.

Wills-O’Gilvie says she has gone more than two weeks without food as part of a hunger strike protesting cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP. She said she is consuming only water, electrolytes and glucose pills, according to the Arizona Daily Star, and plans to continue fasting indefinitely.

The 63-year-old Black advocate was appointed by Gov. Healey to the state’s Anti-Hunger Task Force last year, according to the Springfield Food Policy Council website. In the role, she was tasked with helping shape the state’s response to changes in federal food assistance. Now she’s taking a much more personal approach.

Her protest comes as Massachusetts grapples with a significant decline in SNAP participation following changes to the federal program under President Donald Trump. We previously reported that changes to SNAP eligibility, coupled with a historic pause to benefits in 2025, continue to impact millions of Americans.

RELATED: After New SNAP Work Requirements Take Effect, Americans Nationwide Are Panicking

In Massachusetts, the picture is grim. State data cited by Reuters shows SNAP enrollment in Massachusetts has dropped by nearly 182,000 people, including about 65,000 children. Meanwhile, the state’s Department of Transitional Assistance has seen a 9% increase in daily calls, with nearly half of callers unable to reach someone who can help.

The state says it has added 118 caseworkers this year and is taking other steps to help people access and maintain their benefits.

But Wills-O’Gilvie says the response isn’t enough. “I know what [hunger] looks and ​feels like,” she told Reuters.

While fasting, Wills-O’Gilvie has met virtually with state lawmakers from her home in Springfield. According to The Independent, although the protest is directed at Gov. Healey, the broader fight deals with the impact of federal SNAP cuts and how states respond to an increased demand for food assistance.

This is not a simple symbolic gesture for Wills-O’Gilvie.

The hunger strike has already impacted her ability to function, leaving her unable to drive. She also reported having lupus and hypoglycemia, making an extended fast particularly risky.

Wills-O’Gilvie has spoken with Healey during the protest, according to reports. The governor told her she is working on the issue.

A spokesperson for Massachusetts’ Department of Transitional Assistance wrote in a statement to Reuters, “We ​will continue doing everything we can to make sure families, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities have access to the food assistance they need.”

Still, Wills-O’Gilvie has continued demanding that the state allocate resources to fighting hunger. And for an advocate whose job has long been ensuring other people have enough to eat, she’s making that argument in the most literal way possible.