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2024 Washington State Legislative Session Summary

By Aaron Czyzewski
Director, Advocacy & Public Policy

Each year, Food Lifeline sets out to work with legislative champions in Olympia and Washington DC on policies to solve hunger problems, protect successful safety net programs, and secure new investments for hunger relief efforts. We are happy to report progress in all these areas during the 2024 Washington State Session.

Importantly, Food Lifeline recognizes our advocates and supporters, including partners that helped make this body of work possible: Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition, Balance Our Tax Code Coalition, Faith Action Network, Feeding Washington, Northwest Harvest, Racial Equity Team, Second Harvest, Senior Citizens Lobby, Statewide Poverty Action Network, United Way of King County, Washington Anti-Poverty Advocates, Washington Food Coalition, Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Washington Student Association, Working Families Tax Credit Coalition, Zero Waste Washington, and the Food Fighters Legislative Caucus.


Highlights from the Supplemental Session

The 2024 Washington State Legislature took additional steps to expand free school meal access to students. This year, by appropriating $45M for the previously passed K-4 expansion and by dedicating $12M for the administrative start-up costs associated with the new created federal Summer EBT meal program long championed by U.S. Senator Patty Murray. Additionally, lawmakers appropriated $12M for senior meal nutrition programs, and $10M for the Emergency Food Assistance Program operated by the Washington Department of Agriculture.

To help the state achieve its climate and wasted food reduction goals, the legislature passed HB 2301, by Representative Beth Doglio, to encourage food donation as part of a package of provisions addressing wasted food reduction and composting. The bill pledges $1.6M of Climate Commitment Act funding for a program to help offset harvesting and transportation costs when Washington growers donate unsold produce into hunger relief. It also calls for the Department of Ecology’s Washington Center for Sustainable Food Management to convene a stakeholder workgroup to recommend statewide best practices for food donation that happens through partnerships between food banks & food pantries and grocers & retailers.

Importantly, the legislature continued to direct significant funding for affordable housing, homelessness, and mental health issues. To a lesser extent, poverty reduction and much needed community investment. The need remains prominent for progressive revenue and tax code reform that creates the economic justice necessary to end hunger.

Equity & Social Justice

Food Lifeline Platform: Food Lifeline will consider policy measures which focus on racial equity & social justice for vulnerable and low-income children, adults, and seniors, with emphasis on families of color, immigrant, and under-resourced communities.

Outcome: WIN. HB 1541, Rep Darya Farivar

Outcome: LOSS. HB 1513, Rep Chipalo Street

Outcome: LOSS. HB 1445, Rep Drew Hansen

Outcome: LOSS. HB 1579, Rep Monica Stonier

Poverty

Food Lifeline Platform: Food Lifeline will consider policy measures that end conditions of poverty, especially concerning household stability, affordable housing, living wage employment, and related essential needs.

Outcome: LOSS. HB 1045, Rep Liz Berry

Outcome: WIN. HB 2007, Rep Strom Peterson | Extends TANF time limits
Outcome: WIN. HB 1652, Rep Jamica Taylor | Ensures TANF families can keep their child support payments

Food Systems

Food Lifeline Platform: Food Lifeline will consider measures that improve food justice, food systems resiliency, and operational capacity for hunger relief.

Outcome: WIN. Operating budget| $10M

Outcome: WIN. Capital Budget| $130K for South Seattle Community Food Hub

Outcome: WIN.  HB 2301 | $1.6M (one-time, Climate Commitment Act)

Outcome: Not addressed this session

Hunger, Health, and Wellbeing

Food Lifeline Platform: Food Lifeline will consider measures that positively impact the health of people experiencing hunger in community, educational, work, and healthcare settings.

Outcome: WIN. Operating budget | $100,000 (one-time)

Nutrition Assistance

Food Lifeline Platform: Food Lifeline will prioritize measures that seek to fund and improve equity, access, adequacy, and participation across state and federal nutrition assistance resources.

Outcome: LOSS. HB 2058/SB 5964, Rep Marcus Riccelli, Sen T’wina Nobles | Died in Committee

Outcome: WIN. Operating budget | $45M to ensure schools have sufficient funding to cover costs incurred under previous legislation that expanded free school meals using CEP

Outcome: WIN. Operating Budget | $767,000 to fund basic needs navigators at .75 FTE at all college campuses

Outcome: WIN. HB 1943, Postsecondary Education Grant Program, Rep Mari Leavitt

Outcome: WIN. SB 5180, Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, Sen Sam Hunt

Tax Policy

Food Lifeline Platform: Food Lifeline will consider measures that promote equity and fairness in Washington’s tax code and create more opportunity for community investment.

Outcome: WIN. Operating budget | $1M for outreach strategies to increase participation among eligible 25–64-year-olds

Outcome: LOSS. SB 5486, Sen Noel Frame | Died in Committee

For questions or additional information, please contact aaronc@foodlifeline.org