Hunger in the
49th Legislative District
Statistics & Stories from Our Partners

Northwest Harvest partners with four food banks and meal programs in this district.

These partners distributed 496,408 pounds of food from Northwest Harvest in FY 2014. That’s
the equivalent of over 382,234 meals.

Last year, our partner in your district served an average of 8,747 individuals per month.

Children and infants were 33.9% of all clients served by our partners in the 49th.

Seniors were 17.8% of all clients served, below the average of 20% seen statewide.

According to DSHS, last year, Clark County had 72,608 residents using Basic Food. This was
6.7% of all Basic Food clients statewide.
“December we saw many people who were not just
needing food, but desperate. I think the winter is
exceptionally hard on people living in poverty.”
-Martha’s Pantry
“In December, we helped one of the highest number
of clients for the year! ”
-FISH of Vancouver
“We are still seeing many new families each day.
Many families have to return more than one time per
month.”
-Clark County Adventist Community Services
For more information, contact
Christina Wong, Public Policy Manager
Mobile: 206-306-5877 email: [email protected]
State Legislative Agenda
2015 Regular Session
Maintain the 2014 Budget Funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP)
According to WSDA, 1 in 5 Washingtonians relies on their local food bank. Cuts to federal and state assistance programs combined
with stagnant wages deepen the need for emergency food services such that in this time of economic recovery, food banks are still
serving more clients than they did during the recession. A cut to food stamps on Nov. 1, 2013 resulted in an estimated loss of over
47 million meals in Washington state last year. Food banks have been working hard to make sure no one walks away empty handed, but charity cannot do this work alone. Support from EFAP supplements private giving, helping food banks purchase more food
and pay for the important investments that ensure safe and proper storage and distribution of food to our neighbors in need.
Continue the $800,000 per year increase to the baseline budget, for a total increase of $1.6 million for the biennium.
Protect Current Funding for the Farmers Market Nutrition Program for WIC & Seniors (FMNP)
The Farmers Market Nutrition Programs provide vouchers for families on WIC and low-income seniors for purchasing fresh, locally
sourced fruits and vegetables at local farmers markets. These programs help make nutritious food more affordable while helping
small growers earn a livable income. Last year, added funds to these programs in the supplemental budget ensured that more clients who are eligible for these programs were able to participate in these programs. Elimination of state funding for these programs will amount to a loss of $900,000 in federal funds. Protect current funding for the Dept. of Health to administer FMNP.
Restore full funding for the State Food Assistance Program (SFA)
The State Food Assistance Program (SFA) is the food stamp look-alike program that provides important nutrition assistance to legal,
documented immigrants who do not otherwise qualify for federal assistance. These include aspiring citizens who hold green cards
but have lived here for five years or less, individuals whose immigration status is in transition from one legal status to another and
those families who live and work here under legal compact between the U.S. and their countries of origin. In 2011, SFA benefits
were cut by 50%. A bipartisan effort resulted in restoration of benefits to 75% in 2012; however, cuts to federal food stamps that
are mirrored in SFA benefits, virtually wiped out the added funds. SFA impacts nearly 15,000 children in Washington. To restore
full benefits, add $10 million for the 2015-17 biennium.
Require certain high need schools to provide breakfast after the bell (BAB)
Washington currently ranks 43rd in the nation in participation in the school breakfast program. States that require high need
schools to offer breakfast after the start of the school day have made significant strides in improving breakfast participation rates,
resulting in better academic performance, improved attendance, and decreases in disruptive behavior. Rep. Hudgins and Sen.
Litzow are sponsoring legislation that would require Washington schools where 70% or more students qualify for a free or reducedprice meal to provide breakfast after the bell in the 2016-17 school year. This could affect 25,000 students statewide, and result in
5.25 million more breakfasts served, yielding more than $23 million in federal reimbursements. Support HB 1295/SB 5437.
Protect and preserve programs that provide basic services to low-income families
Washington’s state tax resources will fall $4.5 billion short of what is needed to pay for investments in our basic education system,
provide for current caseloads for basic services, and meet other legally mandated requirements regarding cost of living adjustments for public school teachers and a recently passed voter initiative for smaller classroom sizes. Finding revenue through spending cuts is not the answer: more than $10 billion has been cut from basic needs services since the start of the recession. Any further
reductions when programs already operate on the leanest of budgets will mean wholesale elimination of assistance that helps lowNorthwest Harvest is a statewide hunger relief organization, providing nutritious food to over 370 food banks, meal programs, and high
need schools. We believe that eliminating hunger means fighting its root cause—poverty. To this end, we advocate for public policies that
1) promote access to nutritious food, 2) help low-income people meet their basic need, and 3) support budgets that preserve a basic
safety net.