These are rocky times. Money is short, resources are strained, and client numbers are increasing rapidly. These are problems the emergency food community has faced for years, but they have accelerated during the past couple years.During this time, it has become increasingly clear why the Washington Food Coalition (WFC) is so important. What organization in Washington State specifically represents the interests of emergency food sites and their clients? Only the Washington Food Coalition.

Hunger Action DayBringing Our Voices Together

The annual Hunger Action Day in Olympia is hosted by the Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition and brings together hunger & nutrition advocates from across the state to join in a unified voice to legislators on the policy issues that are most affecting food provision in Washington State. This year’s event was held on February 25th at the state capitol.Hundreds of people from across the state who care about hunger issues joined together to bring awareness to the fight against hunger and the government programs that are critical in this fight. This year’s priorities included funding for the State Food Assistance Program, School Lunch Programs, WSDA’s Emergency Food Assistance

Program, Farmers Market Nutrition Program and Maternity Support Services. The event began with a morning program where attendees heard from several legislators, learned details about the items on the Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition’s Legislative Agenda, and received valuable training from Nancy Amidei (in photo) on how to make the most of a meeting with a legislator.In the afternoon attendees visited with legislators and shared information on the legislative priorities and the importance of preserving these hunger relief programs in Washington. Participants from across the state also got involved by making phone calls, writing letters, and posting information on social networking sites to bring awareness to these issues. This event is designed to engage both the experienced advocate and the first- time attendee and plays a critical role in bringing understanding and visibility to lawmakers about hunger issues across our state. Make sure to attend next year if you missed it this year!

June 2010

Food for ThoughtNewsletter Spring 2011 •www.WaFoodCoalition.org

The conference will feature speakers, workshops, technical training, tours and time to network and learn from others in your eld. Flyers and registration materials will be sent out this summer, but mark your calendars today!

Washington Food CoalitionC/O Thurston County Food Bank220 NE ThurstonOlympia, WA 98501Tel: 360.352.8597 www.ThurstonCountyFoodBank.org

NON-PROFITU.S. Postage

PAIDOlympia, WA

Permit No. 236

CURRENT RESIDENT OR

The 2010 WFC Conference Committee is looking for your input for the September event.

If you have any ideas for workshops, speakers, trainings, etc. -- informational or just plain fun -- pass them on.

We would also love your participation in the organization and/or implementation of the conferencence.

Contact:Joe Gruber joe@udistrictfoodbank.orgKris Van Gasken dmafb@bigplanet.com

Let Us Know

Make the WFC Conference What YOU Want It to Be

September 15-17th Washington Food Coalition Conference

Wenatchee Convention Center

Save the Date!

�“We very much enjoyed and appreciated the Washington Food Coalition Conference�… we just started a new blog as a result of attending a workshop at the conference."

Kathy McLaughlin, 2009 WFC Convention Participant

Conference Inspiration!

Thank you Northwest Harvest for your generous support of the 2009 WFC Conference.

It made the event a true success.

Washington Food Coalitionc/o Northwest HarvestP.O. Box 12272Seattle, WA 98102800.722.6924www.northwestharvest.com

Non-Profit OrgU.S. Postage

PAIDSeattle, WA

Permit No. 5587

Working Together for a Hunger-Free Washington

Stay informed on the Washington State Legislative Session & Budget Process!Sign up for regular advocacy updates from the Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition:Visit www.WSAHNC.org and click on ‘join’ to sign up for weekly email updates.Also check out the WFC blog for periodic updates & other news at www.WaFoodCoalition.blogspot.com

Focus On KNOWING THE NUMBERS Food for ThoughtA publication of the

Washington Food Coalition

P.O. Box 95752 Seattle, WA 98145-2752 206.729.0501 / phone

206.729-0504 / faxwww.wafoodcoalition.orginfo@wafoodcoalition.org

Board MembersRobert Coit, Thurston County Food Bank

WFC ChairDavid Ottey, Emergency Food Network

WFC Immediate Past ChairKris Van Gasken, Des Moines Area Food Bank

WFC Vice ChairYvonne Pitrof, Vashon Maury Food Bank

WFC TreasurerNancy Wilson, Inter-Faith Treasure House

WFC SecretarySusan Urhausen, Kettle Falls Community Chest

Dan Speare, Resources Community ActionBob Soule, Chelan-Douglas Comm Action Center

Peny Archer, Comm Services of Moses Lake Linda Finlay, Comm Services of Moses Lake

Connie Nelson, Spokane Valley PartnersJoAnn Ruston, Hope Source

Lisa Hall, Northwest HarvestJohn Neill, Tri-Cities Food Bank

Chris Gerke, Cascade Blue Mountain Food Share Kathy Covey, Blue Mountain Action Council

Wendy Gonzalez, Helpline Walla WallaBill Humphreys, Volunteers of America WW

Mike Cohen, Bellingham Food BankJoe Gruber, University District Food Bank

Helen McGovern, Emergency Food NetworkKevin Glackin-Coley, St. Leo’s Food Connection Robin Rudy, Tenino Community Service Center

Kellie McNelly, ROOF Community ServicesJames Fitzgerald, Sal. Army-Stop Hunger

Vicki Pettit, Coastal Community Action Program Anthony Airhart, Coastal Harvest

Hoyt Burrows, Central Kitsap Food Bank Marilyn Gremse, Bainbridge Island Help House

Bonnie Baker, Northwest Harvest Scott Hallett, Council on Aging & Human Services

Christine Kiehl, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Shayne Kraemer, Meals Partnership

Mission Statement: The Washington State Food Coalition actively educates and networks with organizations that strive to alleviate hunger throughout

Washington State.__________________________________________

This newsletter prepared with funds made available by the WA Dept. of Agriculture,

Food Assistance Programs.

No person shall on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, national origin, age, citizenship,

political affiliations, belief, veteran status or sexual orientation, be denied employment or benefits or be discriminated against as a participant, administrator

or staff member under this program.

The Fight Against Hunger in Washington StateIn 2009, 1.4 million people used Washington food banks an average of 5 times in 2009 resulting in 7.2 million visits, compared to 6.2 million in 2008. The typical recipient of food bank services is a family of 3. Nearly 45% of families had at least 1 working member. 40% of those served at food banks are children and 13% are seniors. Since the economy took a turn for the worse, food banks across the state are reporting serving a higher percentage of people who have never had to use the food bank system compared to previous years.

Fighting the FightIn our recent Member Survey, we were able to learn about the highs and lows that emer-gency food providers are expe-riencing in these trying times. The greatest item that is causing them difficulty is the increase in demand. The greatest item that they are proud of is knowing that they are making a difference now more than ever.

Fighting Hunger Meal by MealAs the last stop before starvation, Meal Programs across the state play an important role in fighting imme-diate hunger. The programs are primarily, but not exclusively, based in urban areas & almost every major town in Washington has a meal program. The main demographic they serve is the homeless in Washington (44% of these homeless are working, & many have to combat barriers such as limited transportation and reduced access to educational and training programs).In Seattle, there is a recorded 68 meal programs serving 3 million meals per year.source: Meals Partnership Coalition

Understanding Hunger in Washington StateWe all know that hunger is more prevalent in Washington than the average citizen suspects. So how do you show this fact beyond simply anecdotal stories and situations? The more you are able to understand hunger in Washington, the better you are able to help others understand it as well. That’s why we’re focusing on knowing the numbers in this issue of Food For Thought, highlighting several important pieces of information about hunger in Washington State.

Here is some background information on how hunger is defined and researched:Definition of Food Insecurity: households having difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources.Definition of Very Low Food Security: a severe range of food insecurity in which the food intake of some household members was reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted due to limited resources.

National Food InsecurityIn 2009, 85.3 % of U.S. households were food secure throughout the year. The remaining 14.7 % (17.4 million households) were food insecure.The rate of hunger (very low food security) for 2009 in the U.S. was 5.7 %, also the highest rate of national hunger since 1995.

Statewide Food InsecurityEstimated Washington households who are food insecure rose dramatically from 288,000 in 2008 to 367,000 in 2009, a 27 % increase. 152,200 households met the definition for hunger (“very low food security”), up 40,200 or 36 %.Washington’s ranking among the states for food insecurity for the 2006-08 period is 17 out of 50, up significantly from 34th last year. The state’s ranking for hunger (very low food security) rose from 28th last year to 13th this year.Economic conditions in Washington in 2009 drove food insecurity & hunger rates to all-time highs, putting increased pressure on public and private sources of food assistance. While Basic Food (food stamps) participation grew exponentially between 2008 and 2010, USDA found that 32% of food insecure households that were income-eligi-ble for Basic Food did not participate. Nearly 30% of income-eligible households with school-aged children did not participate in the subsidized school lunch program as well. Strikingly, only 23.5% of food insecure households nationally had visited a food bank in the last year.Food Insecurity & ChildrenIt is estimated that over 400,000 children in Washington live in food insecure households. Health effects of hunger & food insecurity in children are associated with more psychosocial problems; more frequent

colds, ear infections, anemia, asthma, and headaches; impaired cognitive functions; and poorer academic achievement.sources: USDA Economic Research Service 2009 Report & Washington State Department of Health

Missing Meals in WashingtonFood Lifeline’s Missing Meals Report shows that more than 219.8 million more meals are still needed each year in Washington to ensure that all low income families and individuals have 3 nutri-tious meals a day. This means that even after low-income families utilize federal nutrition programs and nonprofit food banks and meal programs, as well as spend all they can afford on food, 15% of the food they need is still missing. This is the equivalent of all low-income families missing dinner for two weeks out of every month.source: Food Lifeline

PLAN NOW for Summer Meals Kids don’t have to be hungry in the summertime!

The WA Summer Meals Statewide Partnership has developed a Toolkit that can help you identify needs, partners, outreach strategies and resources in you communities to start or strengthen local summer meal programs for kids. You can learn how your organization can work with others to help end summer hunger in Washington.How can my organization support a local Summer Meals program?One way to support Summer Meals is by sponsoring Summer Meals programs or hosting a meal site. However, you don’t have to sponsor a program to help make it successful – spreading the word about a local program to your clients, colleagues and neighbors is a great way to ensure a program’s success.Visit parenthelp123.org/professionals/food-resources/summer-meals-resource-toolkitto check out the Summer Meals Toolkit and learn more!