There is no such thing as a free lunch. But there is such a thing as a lunch someone else has been forced to pick up the tab for — including lunch in a restaurant:

Colorado lawmakers have proposed bipartisan legislation to expand food assistance benefits to allow recipients to use them to buy meals from restaurants.

Senate Bill 169 requires the state Department of Human Services to submit an application by Jan. 1, 2026 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture requesting to join the federal Restaurant Meals Program.

As of June 2024, nine other states have already adopted this program.

The program would allow eligible Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients to purchase hot or prepared foods at participating restaurants.

SNAP began as food stamps. The original justification was to prevent people from starving. That was the thin edge of a socialist wedge, as you can confirm by the girth of the average SNAP card shopper waddling through the supermarket behind a cartful of snacks.

Big Government freebies always come with strings attached to the liberal agenda. As part of the campaign to drown out American culture, participating restaurants may be “encouraged” to serve food representing “diverse cultural traditions.” “Underinvested communities” — a euphemism for nonwhite neighborhoods — are given special consideration.

Oppressed diners are still required to use their own money when tipping valet parking drivers. But as progressivism progresses, this will surely be covered by taxpayers too.

On a tip from R F.