In the past few months, Congress has reduced funding for food banks and food benefits for low-income people across the United States. Here in our communities in Lewis, Mason, and Thurston counties, we join a national struggle to fill the gaps when those cuts take effect on October 1.  

John Ficker, Executive Director of the Thurston County Food Bank, says, "We're about to be asked to do more with less—a lot more, with a lot less."

What Is Changing?

The biggest changes are the federal cuts to SNAP benefits, previously known as food stamps. Of the nearly one million Washingtonians who receive them, Governor Ferguson's office reports that 130,000 may lose their benefits altogether. (A breakdown by county is not yet available.)

Even those who don't lose benefits will see reductions of $56 or more per month. New work requirements will kick in for people who have a child 14 years old or older—even though teenagers eat far more than younger kids. An existing 80-hour a month work requirement for adults will be extended from the current age of 54 to 64.  

Several SNAP-related programs, including those that provide nutrition education, cooking classes, youth programs, and grants to school food gardens, will be eliminated. So will another federal program that served low-income seniors, including 800 in our community who received supplemental, highly nutritious food. Still another federal program that provides food to food banks is expected to be reduced by about 20 percent.

Those cuts and policy changes will affect low-wage workers, children, people with disabilities, and elders.  

Building Stronger Systems Under Strain

In the past few months, demand at food banks has already grown. At the Lewis County Food Bank Coalition, Chehalis Food Bank Director Linda Mullin reports that weekly client numbers, which typically fluctuated from 60 to 80, jumped to 122 between May and August of this year, even before any of these cuts were enacted. She believes the increase was caused by rising grocery prices. But because of the growing demand, she says, "Now each client's food box contains less."

The coming cuts come after a series of pandemic-era investments that increased benefits and invested in agricultural infrastructure that helped small farms expand their customer base and reduce transportation costs. Shorter transportation routes reduced the food's carbon footprint. Linking local farmers with food banks helped people reap the health benefits of eating fresh food and connect with the farmers and farmworkers who grew it.

The infrastructure for small farms included big refrigerators and freezers, refrigerated trucks, and improved facilities and staffing. Farm to food bank programs brought fresh, locally grown vegetables to low-income clients, many of whom wrote thank-you notes to the farmers. One read "Thank you for the beautiful beets and beet greens. Delicious for my 92 and 95-year-old parents who would struggle to afford such wonderful produce."

State and federal support for the Southwest Washington Food Hub, a farmers' cooperative that launched in 2020 with funding support from the Community Foundation, has been critical to keeping small farms afloat. Katie Rains, the Washington State Department of Agriculture's Director of Food Systems Initiatives, explains why: "If a restaurant needs fifty pounds of carrots a week, and your farm can only supply 25 pounds, you're out of luck. If you are part of a network of farms, your carrots, combined with other farmers' carrots, have a customer. Everyone wins."  

So far, farmworkers in our region of Washington state have not seen the level of ICE raids experienced in other areas. Still, immigrant farm workers, whether documented or not, worry about being targeted. In Mason County, for instance, some immigrants are fearful about coming to a church-sponsored food pantry or even attending church services.

The North Mason Coalition of Churches and Community runs an all-volunteer food pantry, and like its peers, is facing growing demand with shrinking resources. Katie Knoelke, the coordinator, spends many hours coordinating with schools and other institutions to gather their surplus supplies of food and milk. She fears the combination of shortages of food and growing demand.  

Shortages are already becoming the new normal. And for the struggle to prevent hunger, the coming cuts are a crisis as big or bigger than the pandemic. Food aid is the front line of our safety net. When people's incomes are not enough to make ends meet, food assistance is the first and most accessible help they will seek. If it is unavailable, the risk of homelessness and ill health rises.

Responding to these impending shortages is a sobering challenge. John Ficker counters the challenge by reciting the Thurston County Food Bank's mission statement: "Our mission is to eliminate hunger within our community, in the spirit of neighbor helping neighbor."

We're going to need all our neighbors—our farmers, our gardeners, our philanthropists (big and small), and our community fundraising organizers—to meet this challenge.

Seeds of Change

Hunger is a challenge that no single person or organization can solve alone, and building resilient local food systems is long and ongoing work. Yet, throughout our region, people are already planting seeds of change—neighbors sharing meals, farmers supporting one another, and nonprofits building stronger systems. When we come together, small acts of generosity grow into lasting impact. Every gift, every action, every voice helps create a South Sound where everyone has access to the food they need to thrive.

As we shared in our recent story on The State of South Sound Nonprofits, even when challenges feel insurmountable, there is always something we can do. Here are three ways you can help strengthen local food systems:

• Give something. Support local food banks, pantries, and food systems organizations with a meaningful gift. We highlighted three in this story, but many more are meeting this challenge in different ways across our region. You can also discover and support additional organizations during Give Local, happening November 10–21 at spsgives.org.

• Do something. Send a note of encouragement to a nonprofit you care about, or better yet, volunteer your time! Food banks and food pantries rely heavily on volunteers, and the work is a rewarding way to build community by doing something tangible together. Reach out to organizations working to end hunger in your community and ask how you can help.  

• Join something. Add your voice to state and national advocacy efforts to strengthen hunger relief and resilient food systems. Great places to start include Food Lifeline, Northwest Harvest, and the Washington Food Coalition.

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