As safety nets unravel, we must strengthen our collective response to hunger | Opinion

In Washington state, more than 890,000 people face food insecurity daily. Behind this statistic are real families choosing between paying rent and putting food on the table, children attending school hungry, seniors rationing medication to afford groceries, and veterans waiting in food bank lines.

These realities existed before the current wave of federal and state budget cuts. Now, our most vulnerable neighbors face even greater challenges as social safety nets are systematically dismantled.

When the Department of Agriculture reduces the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the effects are immediate and devastating. Families lose vital food assistance. Fewer pregnant women and children receive nutritional support. Already-struggling households experience increased hunger, debt, and damage to their physical and mental health—ultimately increasing healthcare costs for our entire community.

Food insecurity does not occur in isolation but intersects with other systemic inequities:

• Communities of color experience food insecurity at twice the rate of white communities
• Rural areas and urban food deserts face physical and financial barriers to food access
• Immigrant families often avoid seeking benefits they legally qualify for due to fear and confusion
• Children in food-insecure households face lifelong impacts on development and education

Our statewide network of emergency food providers, community organizations, and advocates stands united. We will not allow ideological agendas to erase decades of progress toward food justice. We will not accept hunger as inevitable. Instead, we recommit to our shared values and purpose.

Together, we pledge to:

• Strengthen our collective infrastructure to reach more people in need
• Amplify community voices in policy discussions
• Build public understanding that hunger stems from systemic inequity, not personal failure
• Support neighbor-to-neighbor aid networks
• Demonstrate that community-centered solutions can work, regardless of changes in government support

The path forward requires unity across political lines. Hunger doesn’t care about party affiliation. The child who doesn’t have enough to eat isn’t concerned with politics. The senior choosing between food and medicine doesn’t benefit from divisive rhetoric.

We’ve witnessed this unity in action. When federal pandemic-related food assistance ended in 2023, Washington communities rallied together. Faith organizations opened new pantries. Neighbors created food-sharing initiatives. Local governments increased funding. Together, we stretched resources and developed innovative distribution methods.

It wasn’t enough — it’s never enough when anyone goes hungry — but it demonstrated our collective power. That same commitment will carry us forward now.

To those in power: We are watching as policy decisions increase hunger in our communities. We stand committed to advocacy for food justice.

To those experiencing hunger: We see you. We are with you. You deserve dignity, respect, and access to nutritious food. Your needs are not political bargaining chips.

To all Washingtonians: Join us. Volunteer at local food programs. Support policies that strengthen food security. Challenge narratives that blame individuals for systemic failures. Demand that candidates and elected officials address hunger as a human right.

As government support diminishes, our work becomes harder, the need becomes greater, and the stakes rise higher. But when we join together — organizations and individuals across regions and backgrounds — we become a force more powerful than any single policy or administration.

Hunger can end. It must end. And with our collective action, it will end.

This statement represents the collective voice of 31 food assistance organizations across Washington, including food banks in Bellingham and Blaine.